A New Jersey boy in Joe Flacco comes “home” to play in the city of Brotherly Love. While the reception initially is not overall positive, I believe there is one silver lining to this signing; Eagles will not be taking a quarterback at pick six. For the “They weren’t going to take a quarterback at six,” crowd, how can you be so sure? With Howie Roseman’s draft record and willingness to destroy Carson Wentz’s career in Philadelphia last year, I was not confident the Eagles would not botch the number six pick this year. They still might, but it won’t be with a quarterback. Although I am in the clubhouse there are more negatives to this signing, it’s not every day you can get a Super Bowl MVP in your locker room.
(Evan Habeeb/USA TODAY Sports)
The ongoing twitter debate of if Flacco is elite collides with the passionate fanbase of the Eagles. It is hard to dismiss the 11-year career he had in Baltimore, making the playoffs seven of those years while winning at least one playoff game in six of those playoff appearances. The one year they did not win at least one playoff game? 2018 when the reigns were officially handed off to Lamar Jackson. Amassing 3,223 yards, 25 touchdowns, a 10-5 record, and a Super Bowl ring is a great playoff career. Not to mention, Flacco was regularly completing against Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, and Andrew Luck for the AFC crown. The unfortunate truth is Flacco is no longer this guy. Back-up duties, injuries, and losing games has become Flacco’s MO while in Denver and New York.
Now that we got the positives out of the way, let’s discuss the multiple concerns of this deal. First and foremost, the money. Flacco signed a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the New York Jets last season going 0-4 on a very bad Jets team while Sam Darnold was out with injury. For some reason, this prompted a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Eagles, a team still trying to work out its cap situation. Not only did they pay that kind of money for Flacco, there were better options if they wanted to go the cheaper route in Mitchell Trubisky, Mike Glennon, or C.J. Beathard. The money in general isn’t the issue for me, it’s the fact we paid that money to Flacco. Jacoby Brissett, Marcus Mariota, or Tyrod Taylor would have been worth this money, but the significant regression in Flacco’s play to lead to this kind of contract is puzzling.
The other issue I have is Flacco’s role in Philly. Obviously, he is here to be the backup to Jalen Hurts, but when has he shown to be a good mentor to a young quarterback? Jackson, Drew Locke, and Darnold would like a word. I can appreciate his mentality of wanting to come in and compete to be a starter, but if Flacco is the starter week 1 (barring any injuries) the problem is worse than I thought. I have been a backer of the Flacco is elite campaign, but now it has become the Eagles camPAIN.
Luckily Brandon Graham and Flacco have met before (David Maialetti/The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Again, the silver lining to me is the first-round pick won’t be muddied with a potential quarterback selection, but that is about the only positive. It’s a good story to have a hometown guy come to Philadelphia, but not for that price for an undetermined role. Hurts is our QB1 and could stand to benefit to learn from a veteran like Flacco. Let’s just hope Flacco can be that mentor instead of focusing on trying to push for a starting role.
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