Favorites to trade for Josh Rosen revealed

The Arizona Cardinals own the No. 1 pick in the upcoming 2019 NFL Draft and many suspect that they'll use it to draft Oklahoma Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray. However, the Cardinals also spent a first-round pick on quarterback Josh Rosen just a season ago.

Investing a top overall pick in a quarterback just to force him to battle with another young signal-caller for the right to be the franchise option would be counterproductive. So Arizona is taking offers for Rosen from a team in need of a future quarterback.

Want to cash in huge on the NFL, NBA, NHL, college sports and much, much more? Join SportsLine now to get picks for every single game from a proven computer model and Vegas experts, plus daily and season-long Fantasy advice and projections.

Of course, the Cardinals are going to want to wait for the right offer after trading up to the No. 10 overall pick in last year's draft to select the former UCLA star. So they could be asking for a high draft pick in return for the 22-year-old.

Rosen struggled in his rookie season, going 3-10 as a starter while completing 55.2 percent of his passes for 2,278 yards and 11 touchdowns with 14 interceptions. However, he played for one of the worst offenses in the NFL and played behind an offensive line that allowed him to be sacked 45 times while showing impressive arm talent at times.

So there could still be a market for his services and SportsLine's oddsmakers are taking a shot at handicapping who might trade for the talented youngster. These odds are for informational purposes only.

Will Josh Rosen be traded by the Arizona Cardinals?

Yes 3/1
No 1/1

Josh Rosen team in Week 1 of 2019 regular season if traded

New York Giants 3/1
Washington Redskins 4/1
New England Patriots 8/1
Miami Dolphins 10/1
Los Angeles Chargers 10/1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 12/1
Green Bay Packers 15/1
Cincinnati Bengals 20/1

With Rosen, the first thing you have to look at is whether or not the Cardinals can get a deal done without giving up too much value. They traded a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick to move up from No. 15 to No. 10 a season ago, so getting anything less than a second-round pick in return compounds their loss in that trade.

So the Cardinals are most likely looking for a team holding a late first-round pick or an early second-round pick to do business with. The question becomes whether any of those teams are willing to pay that price. If not, would Arizona be willing to take a later second-round pick knowing that Rosen's price could go down over the course of the 2019 season?

It's a pretty tenuous situation for both the Cardinals and anybody who might be interested. But let's assume for a moment that he is traded so we can sort out the market for his services.

There aren't many immediately available starting roles for Rosen to step into, so it's likely we're looking for a team willing to take on a project at quarterback. The Giants obviously fit that mold with Eli Manning's contract up at the end of next season, which is why they're the favorites at 3/1.

The New England Patriots (8/1), Miami Dolphins (10/1), Los Angeles Chargers (10/1) and Green Bay Packers (15/1) all fit into that category of teams with starters in their mid-to-late 30s who should start thinking about a succession plan. However, with Tom Brady, Philip Rivers and Aaron Rodgers all playing at a high level and Ryan Fitzpatrick serving as a cheap bridge, their need is less pressing than New York's.

Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12/1) and Cincinnati Bengals (20/1) don't appear sold on Jameis Winston or Andy Dalton. But both of those teams hired offensively-oriented head coaches in Bruce Arians and Zac Taylor and they could probably afford to wait to see if new offenses help rejuvenate their careers.

That leaves us with the Washington Redskins at 4/1. They're in a unique situation where Rosen works for them on a couple levels after Alex Smith's broken leg late last season that will cost him 2019.

The Redskins can't crawl out from under Smith's contract until 2020 at the earliest without serious financial repercussions, so they need a cheaper alternative option at quarterback. Smith is also going to be 36 by the time he plays again, so the Redskins also have to start thinking about finding their quarterback of the future.

Rosen could be best of both worlds for the Redskins if they're concerned they can find a quarterback with the No. 15 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft or if no prospect interests them enough to trade up. They also have the No. 46 pick in the second round and two third-round picks that they could potentially use to trade for Rosen.

At 4/1, the Redskins feel like the best value here for Rosen provided he's traded. Though a year to learn behind Eli Manning with the Giants makes plenty of sense too.