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Eagles Sign Former Super Bowl MVP QB to Back Up Jalen Hurts. No, Not That Guy, They Signed Joe Flacco.
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After weeks of speculation surrounding who would back up Jalen Hurts as the Eagles’ quarterback in 2021 — with some of that speculation involving Nick Foles — the Eagles pivoted today and signed former Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco:
Source says Joe Flacco will get $3.5 million guaranteed from the Eagles https://t.co/4uUuTmEoje
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) March 23, 2021
The 36-year-old Flacco, who most recently played with the Denver Broncos and last season played for the New York Jets, makes for a fairly comfortable and feel-good signing for the Eagles. Flacco is from the area originally. He brings 13 years of NFL experience with him, with the first ten of those years seeing him feature as the primary starter for the Ravens.
Flacco also does not project to be the sort of backup quarterback that Eagles fans will clamor for if Hurts struggles this season, which is absolutely what would have happened if this signing was Foles.
Besides, the Eagles are listed in some places at 50/1 to win the Super Bowl in 2022. Whoever they signed to back up Hurts probably wasn’t going to move that needle very far. What’s a little bit unfair is to hold last year’s statistics with the Jets against Flacco:
Joe Flacco in four starts for the Jets last season:
🟢864 yards
🟢6 TDs
🟢3 INTs
🟢55.2%
🟢80.6 passer rating
🟢0-4 win/loss recordIs this a good signing? 🤷♂️ #Eagles pic.twitter.com/p9QSUJ1eZv
— Section 215 (@Sec215) March 23, 2021
The Jets were 2-14 last season, and for much of 2020 it seemed like the Jets were expressly trying to lose:
The Jets made an unprecedented play call to end their game vs the Raiders
There were 252 pass plays meeting this criteria the last 15 seasons:
•Final 15 seconds
•Down 4-8 points
•40+ yards to the end zoneThey were the 1st defense to send 6+ pass rushers in ^ situation pic.twitter.com/mrk61E46ET
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 6, 2020
The Eagles may not win the Super Bowl with Joe Flacco as their backup quarterback, but they’re unlikely to go 2-14, either.
Formerly a Featured Columnist on the Philadelphia Phillies and Manchester City Football Club for Bleacher Report. Full-time attorney, part-time pundit. Follow me @philkeidel on Twitter.