UCLA Football: Would it be wise for Josh Rosen to play in bowl game?

UCLA football has a new head coach, but that’s unlikely to sway Josh Rosen into returning to school. If he leaves for the NFL draft, should he play in the bowl game?

Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette made quite a stir last season when they decided not to play in their respective bowl games. Both players were selected in the top ten picks of the 2017 NFL Draft. Have they paved the way for Josh Rosen who also has first round aspirations?

Josh Rosen has been beat up this season. He left the Bruins’ last game of the regular season against Cal early and was replaced by backup Devon Modster. Between his shoulder and a concussion that sidelined him from a game earlier in the year it’s reasonable to expect Rosen to be cautious of playing any more football before he gets a rather sizable contract.

Interim coach Jedd Fisch said Rosen was pulled from the game for his own safety. “We want to make sure that he is healthy for the bowl game,” Fisch said in an interview after the game. That’s all well and good, but Rosen hasn’t made any public statements about his intentions just yet.

Texas A&M’s Christian Kirk said he was absolutely playing in the Aggies’ bowl game following their regular season finale against LSU. Connor Williams of Texas said he would be forgoing the Longhorns’ bowl game to prepare for the draft. Top players will continue to choose sides as the draft nears.

Next: Rosen projected as a top 5 pick

There are certainly good reasons for Rosen to choose to play in the game or skip it entirely. It will all depend on what he values the most and whether or not he’s ready to move on to the next level. We shall see.