08-21-2018, 01:23 PM
Josh Rosen jogged onto the field as an Arizona Cardinal for the first time on Friday and took a moment to reflect.
"When I stepped in the huddle Authentic Robert Griffin III Jersey ," the young quarterback said, "I kind of looked at the guys and I'm like, 'This is pretty cool.'"
Rosen was the center of attention, as usual, on the first day of Cardinals rookie minicamp, starting out slowly but finishing with a crisp performance capped by a long TD pass to fellow rookie and camp roommate Christian Kirk.
Although he may have to wait awhile, Rosen is the Cardinals' quarterback of the future after the team traded up five spots to take him No. 10 overall in the draft. He's already signed his contract with Arizona.
After Friday's workout, he talked about how he's approaching his new job and even touched on how he deals with being such a lightning rod for criticism 鈥?mainly centering on his personality and often from people who don't really know him.
"You ignore it," Rosen said. "It's only hard if you make it hard. If you're Googling your name every other day and trying to like reach out to people, yeah, you can make it harder on yourself. But as far as I know if you keep your phone limited to messages and calls and you don't read too much. The only thing that matters are the guys in the building and that's what I'm trying to keep it at right now."
He said he's had a couple of conversations with Larry Fitzgerald, the 14-year veteran who is among the most-admired players in the game for his behavior on and off the field.
"He's probably one of the greatest to ever do it," Rosen said. "So I'm just trying to emulate every little thing he does, how he approaches the game as such a professional. There's a lot to take from it."
He's also heard from Sam Bradford Authentic Customized Browns Jerseys , the player signed to be Arizona's opening-day quarterback next season. Bradford offered to help in any way with Rosen's development.
"I think it speaks to him as a person how he's willing to sort of embrace the competition but also embrace sort of the team aspect," Rosen said. "And I'm the same way. Regardless of starter or backup, I want the Arizona Cardinals to do the best possible, because I want to be in the Super Bowl. If that means for this year the best way to do that is to have Sam start, then so be it. But I'm helping, I'm going to push him every single day and likewise I would hope he would do the same thing with me."
The most important thing for him to show on his first day, Rosen said, was "demeanor."
"Even if I don't know what's going on, at least act like I know what's going on," he said. "... Be confident, be firm, snap the ball, get back and do it again."
In truth, new Cardinals coach Steve Wilks is impressed with how quickly Rosen is picking up the offense of coordinator Mike McCoy.
"Phenomenal Devin Hester Jersey Youth ," Wilks said. "The guy's extremely smart. We said that from Day 1. He's picking up the offense. He's doing a great job there, taking control of the huddle and getting everybody in line. No questions about that from the standpoint of his leadership."
Although Rosen said that nine teams 鈥?later amended to three to reflect the QBs selected ahead of him 鈥?made big mistakes on draft night, Wilks said, "I don't think he's out to try to prove anything to anyone.
"He's being his own person. We have accepted him for the person that he is and the player that he is. I don't think we have a problem at all. We've had our talks and it's all about football and staying focused and really concentrating on that."
Rosen, Wilks like to say, "is wired different, and I like that."
Arizona wide receiver Greg Little has not caught a pass in the NFL since 2014 but the down time has not prevented him from making a strong impression in training camp this summer.
If that continues, Little could find himself in the hunt for a starting position with a Cardinals team with no clear-cut favorite to pair with Larry Fitzgerald.
Little thinks about that every night.
"Every night before I go to bed, just try to realize and reflect and just kind of meditate a little bit about my journey and where I am and come out each day and try to get better," Little said. "How long it took and what's left on the plate for me to still accomplish and still go out and do it. Just try to achieve that each day."
Wide receiver Brice Butler, a free agent signee from Dallas, is listed No. 1 on the depth chart with Fitzgerald. Among the other competitors are holdovers J.J. Nelson and Chad Williams and second-round draft pick Christian Kirk, who appears to have secured a spot on the roster as the primary punt returner. Fitzgerald and Nelson are the only returnees with as many as 20 receptions in 2017.
The 29-year-old Little has 161 receptions in four NFL seasons, the first three with Cleveland after the Browns took him in the second round in 2011 out of North Carolina. He started 41 of 48 games with the Browns and was targeted more than 90 times each year Cheap Anthony Averett Jersey , topping out at 61 receptions for 709 yards as a rookie. He led the team in catches his first two years.
After being cut by the Browns, he had six catches in six games with Cincinnati in 2014 and has not played in a regular-season game since. He spent time on the Bengals' practice squad in 2015 and was in Buffalo's training camp in 2016 before being released.
Little, 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, arrived in Arizona with little fanfare, candidly acknowledging the Cardinals were the only team that showed interest. After opening eyes at a rookie minicamp, he was intriguing enough to be asked back.
"The biggest thing that you see when he is out there, he does a tremendous job of catching the ball in traffic," Cardinals coach Steve Wilks said. "Big body. Can really create that separation. There are tight windows in this league, so you have to have receivers that can do those kinds of things. That is one of the things that stands out with Greg."
Cardinals safety Antoine Bethea, who has played 13 seasons, has seen the same thing.
"When he was at UNC, he was a beast," Bethea said. "He's definitely doing some good things out there, jumping out on film. Good strong hands. Running good routes. After three years and coming out here and looking really good http://www.steelersauthorizedshops.com/a...ton-jersey , I'm excited to see him out there."
Little's time in Cleveland was up and down. He was among the league leaders in dropped passes in his three years. He also seemed to clash with head coach Mike Pettine. Little said Pettine did not communicate well, although other players came to Pettine's defense.
"Just a number of things that kind of led me to this position," Little said. "I'm here now. I just want to make the best of it. I'm confident in my ability to still play this game."
A large support group of family and friends helped him make it through the last few seasons, Little said, even if the games themselves were difficult to watch.
"Sometimes I didn't watch at all," he said.
Being back on the field "makes you appreciate the privilege it is to be in the NFL. Once you understand that, then all the other noise doesn't bother you."
He said he views this as a final opportunity, but mainly because of the potential for injury.
"I'm going to take that approach, being that the nature of this game as physical as it is, you have to," Little said. "Obviously, it's a reality for anybody that is playing this game."
.
"When I stepped in the huddle Authentic Robert Griffin III Jersey ," the young quarterback said, "I kind of looked at the guys and I'm like, 'This is pretty cool.'"
Rosen was the center of attention, as usual, on the first day of Cardinals rookie minicamp, starting out slowly but finishing with a crisp performance capped by a long TD pass to fellow rookie and camp roommate Christian Kirk.
Although he may have to wait awhile, Rosen is the Cardinals' quarterback of the future after the team traded up five spots to take him No. 10 overall in the draft. He's already signed his contract with Arizona.
After Friday's workout, he talked about how he's approaching his new job and even touched on how he deals with being such a lightning rod for criticism 鈥?mainly centering on his personality and often from people who don't really know him.
"You ignore it," Rosen said. "It's only hard if you make it hard. If you're Googling your name every other day and trying to like reach out to people, yeah, you can make it harder on yourself. But as far as I know if you keep your phone limited to messages and calls and you don't read too much. The only thing that matters are the guys in the building and that's what I'm trying to keep it at right now."
He said he's had a couple of conversations with Larry Fitzgerald, the 14-year veteran who is among the most-admired players in the game for his behavior on and off the field.
"He's probably one of the greatest to ever do it," Rosen said. "So I'm just trying to emulate every little thing he does, how he approaches the game as such a professional. There's a lot to take from it."
He's also heard from Sam Bradford Authentic Customized Browns Jerseys , the player signed to be Arizona's opening-day quarterback next season. Bradford offered to help in any way with Rosen's development.
"I think it speaks to him as a person how he's willing to sort of embrace the competition but also embrace sort of the team aspect," Rosen said. "And I'm the same way. Regardless of starter or backup, I want the Arizona Cardinals to do the best possible, because I want to be in the Super Bowl. If that means for this year the best way to do that is to have Sam start, then so be it. But I'm helping, I'm going to push him every single day and likewise I would hope he would do the same thing with me."
The most important thing for him to show on his first day, Rosen said, was "demeanor."
"Even if I don't know what's going on, at least act like I know what's going on," he said. "... Be confident, be firm, snap the ball, get back and do it again."
In truth, new Cardinals coach Steve Wilks is impressed with how quickly Rosen is picking up the offense of coordinator Mike McCoy.
"Phenomenal Devin Hester Jersey Youth ," Wilks said. "The guy's extremely smart. We said that from Day 1. He's picking up the offense. He's doing a great job there, taking control of the huddle and getting everybody in line. No questions about that from the standpoint of his leadership."
Although Rosen said that nine teams 鈥?later amended to three to reflect the QBs selected ahead of him 鈥?made big mistakes on draft night, Wilks said, "I don't think he's out to try to prove anything to anyone.
"He's being his own person. We have accepted him for the person that he is and the player that he is. I don't think we have a problem at all. We've had our talks and it's all about football and staying focused and really concentrating on that."
Rosen, Wilks like to say, "is wired different, and I like that."
Arizona wide receiver Greg Little has not caught a pass in the NFL since 2014 but the down time has not prevented him from making a strong impression in training camp this summer.
If that continues, Little could find himself in the hunt for a starting position with a Cardinals team with no clear-cut favorite to pair with Larry Fitzgerald.
Little thinks about that every night.
"Every night before I go to bed, just try to realize and reflect and just kind of meditate a little bit about my journey and where I am and come out each day and try to get better," Little said. "How long it took and what's left on the plate for me to still accomplish and still go out and do it. Just try to achieve that each day."
Wide receiver Brice Butler, a free agent signee from Dallas, is listed No. 1 on the depth chart with Fitzgerald. Among the other competitors are holdovers J.J. Nelson and Chad Williams and second-round draft pick Christian Kirk, who appears to have secured a spot on the roster as the primary punt returner. Fitzgerald and Nelson are the only returnees with as many as 20 receptions in 2017.
The 29-year-old Little has 161 receptions in four NFL seasons, the first three with Cleveland after the Browns took him in the second round in 2011 out of North Carolina. He started 41 of 48 games with the Browns and was targeted more than 90 times each year Cheap Anthony Averett Jersey , topping out at 61 receptions for 709 yards as a rookie. He led the team in catches his first two years.
After being cut by the Browns, he had six catches in six games with Cincinnati in 2014 and has not played in a regular-season game since. He spent time on the Bengals' practice squad in 2015 and was in Buffalo's training camp in 2016 before being released.
Little, 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, arrived in Arizona with little fanfare, candidly acknowledging the Cardinals were the only team that showed interest. After opening eyes at a rookie minicamp, he was intriguing enough to be asked back.
"The biggest thing that you see when he is out there, he does a tremendous job of catching the ball in traffic," Cardinals coach Steve Wilks said. "Big body. Can really create that separation. There are tight windows in this league, so you have to have receivers that can do those kinds of things. That is one of the things that stands out with Greg."
Cardinals safety Antoine Bethea, who has played 13 seasons, has seen the same thing.
"When he was at UNC, he was a beast," Bethea said. "He's definitely doing some good things out there, jumping out on film. Good strong hands. Running good routes. After three years and coming out here and looking really good http://www.steelersauthorizedshops.com/a...ton-jersey , I'm excited to see him out there."
Little's time in Cleveland was up and down. He was among the league leaders in dropped passes in his three years. He also seemed to clash with head coach Mike Pettine. Little said Pettine did not communicate well, although other players came to Pettine's defense.
"Just a number of things that kind of led me to this position," Little said. "I'm here now. I just want to make the best of it. I'm confident in my ability to still play this game."
A large support group of family and friends helped him make it through the last few seasons, Little said, even if the games themselves were difficult to watch.
"Sometimes I didn't watch at all," he said.
Being back on the field "makes you appreciate the privilege it is to be in the NFL. Once you understand that, then all the other noise doesn't bother you."
He said he views this as a final opportunity, but mainly because of the potential for injury.
"I'm going to take that approach, being that the nature of this game as physical as it is, you have to," Little said. "Obviously, it's a reality for anybody that is playing this game."
.