CALLING CARDS

QB ROSEN COULD BE OPTION FOR GIANTS

At this point, it seems as if the Giants are interested in making Kyler Murray their next franchise quarterback only if they are allowed to quietly slide in a new rule that allows players to use a step stool while on the field.

At this point, the noise swirling around Josh Rosen and a possible trade by the Cardinals to unload their 22-year old quarterback — in order to replace him with Murray — is merely background chatter. The Giants were not smitten with Rosen last year but, with the arrival of Valentine’s Day on Thursday, perhaps this is the time to see if love might bloom — if Rosen can be pried out of Arizona.

The Giants, still smarting from a 5-11 season to kick off the Dave Gettleman/Pat Shurmur regime, are committed to 2019 with Eli Manning as their starting quarterback and hope to use this year’s draft — not free agency — to find the next in line.

It is likely the only youngster in this draft deemed worthy of a first-round pick by the Giants will be Dwayne Haskins of Ohio State. What do the Giants think of him? They are intrigued. Gettleman and Shurmur have yet to sit in a room and get to know Haskins and have yet to watch him up close at the NFL Scouting Combine or at his Pro Day. Anyone who indicates the Giants, right now, are sold or sour on Haskins is blowing smoke.

Murray, the Heisman Trophy winner from Oklahoma, has pushed his football chips to the center of the table, eschewing (for now) baseball and an outfield spot in the Oakland A’s farm system. This is a positive development for the Giants, as it could push a top prospect down to them at No. 6 and possibly cracks open the door on a trade for Rosen — who could be a golden ticket for the Giants.

The unearthing of Rosen is a connect-the-dots under-

taking triggered months ago, when Kliff Kingsbury was the head coach at Texas Tech and said, “Kyler is a freak. I would take him with the first pick of the draft if I could.’’

Lo and behold, Kingsbury is the new head coach of the Cardinals and owns the No. 1 pick in the draft. That Murray hired Erik Burkhardt as his agent adds fuel to the fire, as Burkhardt also represents Kingsbury.

Rosen, the 10th-overall pick in 2018, had a rough rookie year. He completed 55.2 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions for a quarterback rating of 66.7 — behind a terrible offensive line.

Trying to quell the innuendo, Kingsbury on Tuesday backed off his past Murray raves as a precursor to dumping Rosen.

“Our feeling toward Josh haven’t waned or changed,’’ Kingsbury said. “I get it. We have the first pick, so there are going to be a million scenarios over the next three months. Kyler is a tremendous player. I said that being very complimentary before we played against an opponent.’’

A year ago, there were those in the Giants’ organization taken with Rosen’s arm talent, which is considerable, but bothered by Rosen’s history of concussions and his somewhat edgy personality. In Gettle- man’s view, all the quarterbacks in the 2018 draft ran a distant second to Barkley’s generational gifts.

There is also a thought that Rosen was not ready to play as a rookie, but the Cardinals played him anyway, with predictably nightmarish results. Kingsbury now proclaiming his allegiance to Rosen is either the real truth or the public truth. The Giants should explore this to determine if Rosen is gettable and what it would cost to swing a deal — if they could acquire him and not give up the No. 6-overall pick, it would be a nobrainer.

Bringing in the closest young version of Manning —a tall, pocket passer — is not the worst idea out there. Rosen would benefit from what he was not afforded in Arizona, a chance to sit and wait and learn behind Manning, a consummate professional.

Rosen should not be branded as a lost cause because of the inadequacies of the operation around him. Patrick Mahomes, with Kingsbury as his head coach, went 7-6 and 5-7 his final two years at Texas Tech. Sometimes the situation is simply not conducive to winning.

Imagine if the Giants eventually came out of the 2018 draft with Barkley

and Rosen?