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The Cardinals have made themselves easy targets.

Days after the NFL draft, they remain the subject of mocking for mishandling the Josh Rosen market.

While Arizona was closely linked to eventual No. 1 pick Kyler Murray for months, the Cardinals waited until draft night to begin looking around for trade options for Rosen, their first-round pick of a year prior, according to The MMQB. They took calls from the Giants, Washington and Miami, and shortly after taking Murray, general manager Steve Keim gave Rosen’s agent, Ryan Williams, permission to help find a destination for him. Keim then asked Williams if the Patriots might be interested in Rosen supplanting Tom Brady one day.

Williams was stunned this was only now on his plate. Keim was seeking a first-round pick for Rosen. The Redskins, for one, laughed at the suggestion after the Cardinals had harmed their own leverage.

“That’s really bold for someone who just took a QB,” a Washington executive said.

Keim also suggested he may keep both quarterbacks.

“If that’s their position, then I’ll just beat him out and Kyler can be the backup,” Rosen told his agent.

Eventually, the Cardinals found a deal, shipping Rosen to the Dolphins for a second-round pick. Rosen is happy the deal went down.

“I absolutely would have competed if they kept me, but I would’ve been kind of bummed about it because I knew I wouldn’t get a fair shake,” he said. “A GM’s not going to draft a quarterback and draft another one the next year, higher, and then play the first one. It’s admitting you made two mistakes. It just wouldn’t happen. I wouldn’t hesitate to compete, but I would know preemptively I wouldn’t get a shot even if I won the competition.”

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