Fansided

5 NFC West headlines to look for in 2018

By Cody Rivera

NASHVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 24: Todd Gurley II #30 of the Los Angeles Rams runs the ball during a game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Rams defeated the Titans 27-23. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 24: Todd Gurley II #30 of the Los Angeles Rams runs the ball during a game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Rams defeated the Titans 27-23. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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ARLINGTON, TX – AUGUST 26: Josh Rosen #3 of the Arizona Cardinals warms up before a game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium during week 3 of the preseason on August 26, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. The Cardinals defeated the Cowboys 27-3. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX – AUGUST 26: Josh Rosen #3 of the Arizona Cardinals warms up before a game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium during week 3 of the preseason on August 26, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. The Cardinals defeated the Cowboys 27-3. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

4. Will Josh Rosen get an opportunity?

There isn’t really much reason to expect that the Arizona Cardinals will do much better than their 8-8 mark from a year ago. They are coming into the 2018 season with a new and inexperienced head coach. They will have a new quarterback leading the offense. Their one mainstay is future Hall of Fame receiver Larry Fitzgerald, and they have one of the league’s better young running backs in David Johnson.

But nevertheless, it’s a transitional year for the Cardinals. They drafted their franchise quarterback of the future, Josh Rosen, with the 10th-overall pick in this year’s draft. But Rosen is a work in progress, even though he might be the most naturally gifted quarterback in the 2018 draft class.

Rosen won’t be the starter right away, which is a good thing. That will be veteran Sam Bradford, who came to Arizona on a two-year deal. Rosen has a chance to win the backup job over Mike Glennon, but if Cardinals fans are lucky, they won’t be seeing Rosen making any starts this year. Given his injury history, that’s not something they want the future of their franchise to be forced into as a rookie.

Rosen has potential to be great, having averaged 311.3 passing yards per game during his college career at UCLA. But he needs to be eased into the starting role, maybe even over a couple of seasons. That would be the best scenario for the Cardinals going forward.

But, Bradford has a strong history of injuries as well. He’s had numerous knee issues over the years. Last year, he missed 14 games with Minnesota due to an ACL problem. If he goes down again this year, Rosen might be forced into action, and that’s not something Arizona fans should want right now.

As excited as the fans are for the future, the Cardinals have to be extremely cautious with Rosen. Even one little misstep could put his NFL future in jeopardy. For his sake, hopefully he won’t be playing at all this year.