Shortly after a crazy night of college basketball ended, the Eagles continued their busy week by signing quarterback Marcus Mariota. The deal, as reported by Adam Schefter, is for 1 year for $5 million, that could increase to up to $8 million. He signs as the backup quarterback to Jalen Hurts, shortly after Gardner Minshew signed a contract with the Indianapolis Colts.
Mariota comes to Philadelphia as one of the best back up options in the NFL. He has started 74 career games, and even 2 playoff games. He is not a great passer, but he is very mobile and can take off and run at any point. He fits the Eagles running heavy style much better than Minshew did.
After almost a decade, Mariota finally will be in midnight green. In 2015, when Chip Kelly was still the Eagles coach, there were rumors that the team wanted to trade up in the draft and select him coming out of Oregon State. While Mariota is no longer a starting caliber player, he is an experienced backup who can serve as a spot starter in case something ever happens to Hurts.
Smart move by Eagles?
Adding a veteran to back up Hurts will be a huge advantage for both the team and Jalen. You now have a QB that’s been through the roughest points in football bestowing knowledge upon your young franchise QB. The advantage for the team is now you have a QB that fits what you have in place.
If Hurts goes down with an injury then the confidence factor of being able to pull off a win is still there. Mariota may be passed his prime about he can still be an efficient player when called upon. This is a huge win-win for the Eagles and especially Jalen Hurts.
Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
