Replenishing the Factory: Three Backup Quarterback Options for the Eagles
The “Quarterback Factory” is all but empty. Carson Wentz has been traded to the Colts. Nate Sudfeld most likely will not be back after his Sunday night debacle in Week 17. Jalen Hurts, the lone survivor, is now poised to take over as the quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles in his sophomore campaign this upcoming season.
It is known in Philly, more than anywhere else, a good backup quarterback can be just as important as the starting quarterback. It is all but certain that Nick Foles will not be returning to the Eagles this offseason after rumors of Foles being part of a deal to send Wentz to Chicago fell through.
There are now rumors swirling in the Windy City that Foles will be the Bears’ starting quarterback heading into the offseason.
So if Foles isn’t coming back to backup Hurts, who can come in and get the Birds a couple of wins if needed?
Here are three solid backup options that keep the QB controversies to a minimum in Philadelphia.
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Fitzmagic has had an incredible run in his last few years. Last year he all but willed the Dolphins to a playoff berth after being replaced by Tua, then coming in and beating the Raiders, then being replaced by Tua again. Ultimately, the Dolphins fell short of the playoffs, which would have been Fitzpatrick’s first appearance in his 16-year career. Most of Fitzpatrick’s career has been a backup with his coaches and teammates raving about his work with young quarterbacks, helping mold them into professionals.
Fitzpatrick could do wonders mentoring Jalen Hurts. Hurts already appears to have a great work ethic, and this will only be enhanced with the addition of Fitzpatrick. If Fitzpatrick has to go in and play a game or two, Eagles’ fans will quickly be all in on the board and the entire Fitzmagic experience.
Marcus Mariota
The Chip Kelly experience finally comes to fruition! When Kelly was hired, Eagles’ fans were all but certain that Chip would find a way to trade up in the draft and select his former Heisman trophy-winning quarterback from Oregon and really bring the college system to the NFL. Instead, Kelly traded for Sam Bradford, and Mariota was selected second overall by the Titans.
Since then, Chip Kelly, as we know, was fired not once but twice from NFL teams and is back in college and Mariota was replaced by Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee and last year found himself backing up Derek Carr in Las Vegas.
In limited action last year, Mariota played pretty well. He can still use his feet to move outside of the pocket and make plays, and he was able to protect the ball in the pocket to give his team a chance to win. Mariota is intriguing to the Eagles because he has a similar skill set to Jalen Hurts.
If Mariota does have to come in, the playbook can remain the same. Although Mariota is a downgrade from Hurts, he can still make plays if needed.
Alex Smith
Alex Smith was the comeback story of the year, if not the decade this past season. Two years ago, he suffered a gruesome leg injury that was life-threatening and required up to 17 surgeries to keep Smith alive and to allow him to keep his leg. Last year, not only was Smith back to playing football for the Washington Football Team, but he replaced Dwayne Haskins and the injured Kyle Allen to play surprisingly well for a good part of the season. It is clear that Smith is not the quarterback he used to be, but he also made it clear this season that he can still play in this league.
It will be interesting to see the type of market that Smith commands when he likely enters free agency. His body started to break down towards the end of the year, so it is doubtful he can be a team’s starting quarterback for the entire season. However, if a team needs a QB to start a few games, he is a perfect fill-in guy that can go out and win your team a couple of games.
He will have the respect of every locker room on day 1 and is also a great teammate that will not start a quarterback controversy with Hurts but will do his best to make sure that both he and Jalen are prepared to the max for Sundays.
The offseason has yet to start, and Carson Wentz is technically still an Eagle until the new league year starts, but it is never too early to look for a backup quarterback in this league. Philadelphia knows the importance of a backup quarterback, but Philadelphia also knows quarterback controversy.
The Eagles cannot make the mistake of putting a controversy into the lap of new head coach Nick Sirianni and first-year starting quarterback Jalen Hurts. These three options provide capable backups without the drama of a man in waiting sitting behind the starter. The question is, will either of these three quarterbacks want to come to the factory for the “retool,” only time will tell.
Of course, this could all go in the trash if Howie decides to pick a quarterback at 6 in the draft this year.
The Eagles are the “Quarterback Factory,” so never say never…
Featured Image: @kurtwearshats/Twitter
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