Chosen Rosen apparently didn’t have much of a choice about suiting up for next week’s bowl game.
It was reported on Saturday that star UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen will not play in the Cactus Bowl on Dec. 26. Bruce Feldman of Sports Illustrated added a few hours later that Rosen wanted to play but is under doctor’s orders to sit.
Per Feldman:
According to a UCLA source, Rosen wanted to play but the medical staff doesn’t want him to play in this game because they didn’t want him to risk having another concussion so close to the last one.
The junior quarterback has been in concussion protocol since getting injured late in the season. Rosen sustained a concussion against Washington on Oct. 28 and then sat out the following game. He was also banged up and sat out the second half of the Bruins’ regular-season finale against Cal on Nov. 24.
The junior signal caller has had his toughness questioned this season, and many may have seen the decision to sit out the bowl game as Rosen, who is projected to be a top pick in the 2018 NFL Draft if he declares, wanting to preserve his stock. But it turns out that Rosen would not have been able to play against Kansas State no matter how much he wanted to, and it makes for an unfortunate presumed ending to the 20-year-old’s collegiate career.
