Falcons sign Josh Rosen after release by the 49ers

Josh Rosen is making another stop on his NFL journey, as the Atlanta Falcons have signed the former top-10 pick.

As other first-round quarterbacks in his draft class line up to get big contract extensions, Josh Rosen continues his well-traveled odyssey. After being released by the San Francisco 49ers, the Atlanta Falcons have officially announced their signing of the No. 10 overall pick in the 2018 draft.

After two turbulent seasons to start his NFL career, with the Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins, Rosen landed softly on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad to start last season. The 49ers signed him just before Christmas, but he did not appear in a game. Then they re-signed him to a cheap one-year deal.

The Falcons lost backup quarterback A.J. McCarron to a torn ACL in their second preseason game, leaving only undrafted rookie Feleipe Franks behind Matt Ryan. If nothing else, Rosen adds experience (16 regular starts) to Atlanta’s quarterback room.

Will Josh Rosen ever find an ideal landing spot?

Rosen was drafted into a bad situation in Arizona in 2018, and they were so bad they earned the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft. The 2019 Dolphins weren’t any better, with “Tank for Tua” as the outside phrase attached to the franchise. It’s hard to imagine a young quarterback landing in two worse situations, in as many seasons no less–learning a new system, etc.

Rosen has surely benefitted from working with Tom Brady and Kyle Shanahan in his two most recent stops. Respectively, a better-prepared quarterback and a better offensive mind can’t be found in the league. He has certainly been humbled by what he’s gone through, being traded, cut, etc., and will be better for it.

The Falcons are in line to find Ryan’s successor at some point soon. Rosen may or may not be that guy, but at this point, a flier on him works well for them and Rosen gets to work with another veteran quarterback.