How Washington emerged as the front-runners for Josh Rosen

Have the Redskins emerged as the favorites to land Josh Rosen? It's starting to appear that way.

All signs point to the Cardinals taking Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray with the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft later this month, and if that happens, there's no way Arizona is keeping Rosen on the roster.

That means the Cards need to move their 2018 first-rounder, and do so without a whole lot of leverage.

Enter the Redskins, a team with a long-term hole at QB. Washington wants to add a young passer, but their current financial commitment to injured Alex Smith makes that hard.

Rosen would be perfect because the Cardinals are already paid his signing bonus and he's owed less than $2 million for the 2019 season.

The Murray-to-Arizona speculation started growing at the NFL Scouting Combine in February, and the Rosen-to-Washington rumors started almost immediately thereafter. They haven't slowed.

The latest came from ESPN's Todd McShay, who said of Rosen on his podcast, "I keep hearing Washington. They are the most likely of teams. They seem to be the most interested in Josh Rosen."

Being the most likely makes sense. The 2019 rookie crop of signal callers lacks star power.

Murray might be a star, but questions remain for Dwayne Haskins and Drew Lock. Still, expect both to go before the 'Skins draft with the 15th overall pick.

Daniel Jones could be there at 15, and the Redskins will host the Duke QB next week for a pre-draft visit. Expect a visit from West Virginia QB Will Grier, too.

Still, most talent evaluators would rank Rosen only behind Murray if the former UCLA star was in the 2019 draft class.

https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/redskins/how-redskins-emerged-front-runners-trade-josh-rosen