49ers to sign quarterback Josh Rosen off Buccaneers practice squad following Nick Mullens injury, per report

The San Francisco 49ers are bringing in some help at quarterback, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Tuesday afternoon that the team is signing former No. 10 overall pick Josh Rosen to their active roster from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad. Earlier Tuesday, it was reported quarterback Nick Mullens needed elbow surgery and would miss the remaining two games of the regular season. Veteran quarterback Josh Johnson was also placed on the COVID-19 list, so the team is down to just one healthy quarterback in C.J. Beathard. 

According to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, the 49ers were one of the teams who eyed Rosen when he was reportedly on the trading block with the Miami Dolphins. Rosen ended up being released by the Dolphins in early September and signed to the Buccaneers’ practice squad.

A former UCLA star, Rosen was selected in the first round by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2018 NFL Draft. In his rookie season, he went 3-10 as a starter while throwing for 2,278 yards, 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. It was a hard place to play, as the Cardinals were clearly the worst team in the league and even scrapped their entire coaching staff after just one season. Kliff Kingsbury, who was infatuated with former Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, was hired the next season, and since the Cardinals had the top pick in the draft, they opted to select Murray and traded Rosen away to the Dolphins. Last year, Miami was one of the worst teams in the NFL, so Rosen struggled to find his footing in his second season as well. In six total games, he threw for 567 yards, one touchdown and five interceptions. He lost all three of his starts.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan will surely roll with Beathard as the starter in Week 16 against the Cardinals, but he now has a backup in case things go awry — and an intriguing one at that.