Josh Rosen defends players’ right to skip bowl games, voices support for Chip Kelly
Former UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen talks about having faith in Chip Kelly and the growing trend of college players skipping their bowl games.
Josh Rosen has never been confused for being a shrinking violet.
The opinionated Cardinals rookie quarterback has never been shy about expressing his thoughts on a variety of topics, whether it be football, paying college athletes or politics. That continued when I talked with Rosen after he presented the Gatorade National Football Player of the Year to Notre Dame Preparatory (Scottsdale, AZ) standout Jake Smith on Tuesday.
We talked about the responsibility of being a leader as a 21-year-old rookie for the Cardinals before the conversation turned to his alma mater UCLA where Chip Kelly took over as head coach and later what he thinks about players who skip their bowl games.
“I’ve got all the confidence in the world in Chip,” Rosen said. “He’s a great guy, unbelievably intelligent and I’m very confident he will have UCLA be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years.”
UCLA went 3-9 and lost the first five games as the life after Rosen was a tough transition. Rosen admits it would have been fun to play in Kelly’s offense but has no regrets about his decision to head to the NFL.
“I think it would have been a lot of fun to be in Chip’s offense,” Rosen said.
As long as college football isn’t giving anything back to them, I don’t think they have anything more to give back to it.
Rosen was recovering from a concussion at the end of his final year at UCLA and was withheld from the Cactus Bowl.
Had he been medically cleared, he would have played in the game, but he’s aware of the growing trend of players skipping their bowl games.
While some are quick to criticize the college athletes like Leonard Fournette, Christian McCaffrey, Ed Oliver, Rashan Gary and Will Grier, among others for their decision, Rosen is just as quick to say it’s a nuanced conversation and not so cut and dry.
“As long as college football isn’t giving anything back to them, I don’t think they have anything more to give back to it,” said Rosen who has advocated for paying athletes and overhauling college athletics.
“I don’t think you can judge any situation with a broad brush stroke. I think some guys have to look out for family and have a lot more on their plate than people realize. I think you can’t see this whole thing in the same lens, but if you are to look at it in one lens: Why would they do that?”
“You’re only risking injury and cutting off a month of training for the combine, but if you want to go to the NFL and you made that decision, I don’t think anything should hold you back.”
Nothing is holding Rosen back from voicing what’s right in a time when so many are afraid of speaking out in defense of those who don’t have a voice.