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Former first-round pick Josh Rosen is looking to gain his NFL legs after a tumultuous start to his career. His journey to San Francisco’s third quarterback job is now going the wrong direction, though.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan, while discussing a bad play from Rosen during Sunday’s practice, said the quarterback is struggling after a good start to camp.
“I think he started off real well. I think he’s taken a couple of steps back the last few practices,” Shanahan said. “You know, it was unfortunate on that. We were supposed to go to someone and we had a busted route, so then it kind of fell apart, and he tried to overcompensate and he made a bad situation worse.”
Rosen is in a battle with Nate Sudfeld for the No. 3 quarterback job behind Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance. The No. 10 overall pick by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2018 draft, Rosen was traded to the Dolphins after a poor rookie year, then let go by Miami after he struggled in one season with them. The 49ers signed him late last year off the Buccaneers practice squad when COVID-19 sidelined QB Josh Johnson. Rosen suited up for San Francisco in two games but never saw the field.
He re-signed with the 49ers this offseason and looked to be the front-runner for the third quarterback job. Sudfeld’s arrival made it a competition.
This will be an interesting aspect of San Francisco’s preseason games since both Rosen and Sudfeld could see significant playing time. If Rosen doesn’t regain the ground he’s lost in Shanahan’s mind the last few practices, he could find himself moving on from his fourth team since being drafted four seasons ago.