The New York Giants have made it a priority to collect former Arizona Cardinals players in an attempt to bolster the defense with James Bettcher familiars. Players like Markus Golden and Antoine Bethea have both played under Bettcher and are trusted to help develop the Giants’ struggling unit -signed this offseason.
Big Blue has been plagued with secondary issues and is now short pass-rushers after the trading of Olivier Vernon. Golden offers a defensive rusher and Bethea is an experience free safety with the ability to lead and instill knowledge in the younger options.
Despite the defensive woes, the Giants are in the market for a new quarterback, and rumors of Josh Rosen being available has been the talk of the town. The major question – is Rosen the guy to take over after Eli Manning? Are his priorities in order and personality tame? His former teammates seem to think so.
He was the first in the building as a rookie to! Great Guy and player!
— Markus Golden (@markusgolden) April 8, 2019
A burst of confidence from Golden toward Rosen, the 10th pick in the 2018 draft and a potential trade target for the Giants. Arizona has been reportedly considering the idea of drafting Kyler Murray with the 1st overall pick in the 2019 draft, which opens up the doors for Rosen departure and a New York destination.
Another player speaks out in support of Rosen:
“He’s going to be able to do some great things in 2019,†Antoine Bethea states prior to Super Bowl LIII. “For a young quarterback, his ball placement is great. . . The more play time he gets, the better he’s going to get.â€
The young quarterback has been targeted in the past in relation to his personality and poor leadership skills. Bethea advocated for his locker room intangibles and the relationships he developed in his rookie season. That’s important information for the Giants if they’re keen on making a run for the second-year passer.
Ultimately, a trade would most certainly involve a second-round pick from the Giants, which seemingly holds a lot of value considering the draft pick spent on acquiring left guard Will Hernandez last season. Gettleman has to make a difficult decision – grab Rosen on a rookie-friendly deal and allow him to learn behind Manning, or take a more risky approach and save the pick for the draft. Of course, this is if the Cardinals are even looking to trade their premium passer.