Cactus Bowl 2017: Should UCLA Football QB Josh Rosen play?

Already there have been a number of potentially high draft picks stating they will not play in their team’s bowl game in an effort to avoid injury and hypothetically hurting their draft stock. Should UCLA Football QB Josh Rosen be among them?

There isn’t much Josh Rosen needs to prove to anyone anymore. From his pure throwing ability, accuracy, intelligence and competitive spirit, Rosen has shown in two and half seasons of play that he’s the real deal. Still there are those who would take him sitting out the bowl game as a sign of his “lacking commitment” to football. The question then goes from, what does he gain by playing to what does he stand to lose by sitting?

While Rosen publicly stated towards the end of the year that he would play in a bowl game if the UCLA Football team became eligible and was selected, things have become a little more murky recently.

Related Story: UCLA Football: Josh Rosen having to avoid hits on and off the field

Rosen was knocked out of the Washington game with what was later diagnosed as a concussion. He would miss the Utah game six days later because of it. He eased back into the swing of things with a win over ASU and out-dueled Sam Darnold a week later in a loss. However in the regular season finale against Cal, Rosen was slammed to the turf in a hit very much like the one that concussed him against Washington. He didn’t return for the second half of the game.

While interim head coach Jedd Fisch stated that Rosen was pulled for precautionary reasons and that they wanted him healthy for a bowl game. However there’s been a new development on that end.

That above comment would have you believe that Rosen is in concussion protocol although the team has issued no such statement. And we’ve seen photos of Rosen competing in team activities following the end of the season so what’s the hang up?

Should he be injured you can be willing to bet his draft stock will take a major nose dive. While the Kansas State DL isn’t exactly the scariest in college football or even the Big-12, there are no guarantees in this game. If he steps out onto the field there’s a chance he could be injured.

One idea to consider is that Rosen is still weighing whether he wants to play in the Bowl game. He stands to gain a big paycheck come NFL Draft weekend and will certainly be a top five selection. However this bowl game would be his final opportunity to play football for scouts and silence any lingering doubts about his health and pad his already very impressive resume.

Speaking of that impressive resume there’s still one box Rosen has yet to check. He has never won a bowl game. While he hasn’t won a PAC-12 championship or taken UCLA Football to a national championship like many hoped he would, the lack of a bowl win seems to be one of the biggest arguments for Rosen’s detractors. While that’s a terribly flawed argument given all the circumstance surrounding Rosen’s time at UCLA, it still is amazing that a QB of his caliber has been unable to find bowl success. This could very well be his last chance for that.

Next: Cactus Bowl 2017: UCLA Football defense vs. Kansas State offense

This bowl game also carries the weight of a UCLA Football team in transition. Chip Kelly‘s hiring has generated more buzz and excitement around the program than one can recall in recent memory. Perhaps the only time recently that one guy brought such buzz to a program was when Rosen signed with UCLA in 2015. It would be a huge boost to Bruin momentum if the team were to win in the Cactus Bowl no matter which QB plays. Of course, there will be a much greater chance of that should Rosen play.