Josh Rosen Could Turn out to be the 49ers' Best Christmas Present
Christmas came early for the 49ers when they poached quarterback Josh Rosen off the Buccaneers practice squad on Dec. 23.
The 49ers have been plagued all season long with average-to-poor quarterback play. It is a major factor as to why they are 5-9 right now. That is why the leading debate right now regarding the 49ers is what they should do to improve the position.
“Josh, obviously, he's got a first-round talent arm," said Robert Saleh on his assessment of Rosen. "So, anytime you've got somebody with the arm talent that someone like Josh has, he's always going to be dangerous in terms of being able to get hot and get in rhythm and get the ball where it needs to go."
Rosen could turn out to be the 49ers' best Christmas present.
Outside of C.J. Beathard, Kyle Shanahan has not been allotted a young quarterback to develop. And as horrendous as his NFL career has been so far, Rosen still is a raw piece of clay that can be molded. He was just dealt the worst hand to start out his NFL career. I wouldn't place sole blame or even the majority of his poor start all on him.
By coming to the 49ers, Rosen gets to work with one of the best offensive minds in football. This is the best place for Rosen to find his footing and for Shanahan to potentially find a diamond in the rough. Now Rosen does NOT eliminate a need at quarterback in the offseason. He could start in the season finale against the Seahawks and have the best game of all time. That still would not detract this team's overall goal.
Besides, it is not a guarantee that Rosen will even see playing time.
"We’re right now trying to get him to learn the offense," said Shanahan. "He hasn't been in an offense like this, so from a terminology standpoint, it's a huge challenge for him. I'm not really looking at it physically right now. We know he's physically gifted, but I just want to see how much he can learn so if God forbid something did happen to [QB] C.J. [Beathard] in the game, that he can come in and hand the ball off and when we do throw, know where those guys are and understand what the terminology is."
Personally, I would like to see Rosen against the Seahawks in Week 17. Better to let him take a crack in the offense and plant seeds of hope than to play the same tune with Beathard. With Rosen, he creates a ton of intrigue for the 49ers. He isn't an answer, but their is untapped potential. It is on Shanahan and his staff to unlock that potential and prove their genius.
If Rosen can take advantage of this great opportunity he has been presented with, then the 49ers' will have been granted their best Christmas present.
