The quarterback rumors swirling around Philadelphia aren’t going anywhere. Regardless of your thoughts on Jalen Hurts and the current quarterback situation, Howie Roseman will undoubtedly scour the QB market this offseason.
It’s just a question of whether or not he’ll actually pull the trigger.
The Eagles have been linked to multiple quarterbacks already, and some are far more likely than others. Since Philly is in the trading spirit right now, let’s take a look at each of the quarterbacks who have been connected to the Eagles and rank them in order of least likely to most likely.
5. Aaron Rodgers
As much as I’d love to see the back-to-back MVP bring his talents to South Philly, the likelihood of it actually happening are slim to none. Chances are, Aaron Rodgers will stay put in Green Bay. The organization is reportedly committed to doing whatever it takes to keep Rodgers in Title Town.
Despite what some think of Rodgers, he’s a smart guy. He knows his best chance at winning a championship is in Green Bay. If he doesn’t believe that, there are other teams better suited than the Eagles to give Rodgers what he wants right now (i.e. Denver Broncos).
It would take an unforeseen turn of events for Rodgers to come to Philadelphia. If I had to put a percentage on it, I’d put a 1% chance on Rodgers joining the Eagles. And even that feels a little generous.
4. Kyler Murray
Much like Rodgers, I don’t see Kyler Murray actually leaving Arizona this offseason. This pissing match between him and the Cardinals organization will blow over by the time OTAs roll around.
Even if he were to get traded, Murray hasn’t proven enough to warrant multiple first-round picks in a trade. He’s an exciting young quarterback who obviously has a lot of upside, but he’s not the most durable quarterback in the league and he’s fallen apart at the end of both 2020 and 2021.
There’s no way Murray is coming to Philly.
3. Jimmy Garoppolo
Simply put, Jimmy Garoppolo wouldn’t move the needle enough to warrant Howie trading for him.
Jimmy G is a better quarterback than he gets credit for, though. His career record of 45-18 speaks to that. But it’s clear that he needs a lot of pieces around him to succeed. The Niners are loaded offensively and have one of the best play callers in the league. Yet, Jimmy G still leaves a lot to be desired.
Would Garoppolo fit in Philadelphia? I’d say so. The run-first approach is an obvious fit for him. But again, why trade for a guy who’s 30 when you have a young quarterback who still has a lot of room for improvement?
If the Eagles are going to trade for an established quarterback, it’s going to be for a guy who really raises the championship potential. Inserting Garoppolo won’t do that.
2. Deshaun Watson
We still don’t know much about Deshaun Watson‘s alleged sexual misconduct case in Houston. The allegations certainly raise some question marks about Watson’s character and we all know how important the intangibles are when it comes to playing quarterback.
When it’s all said and done, I’d venture to say Watson’s allegations will be settled and he’ll face some sort of punishment from the NFL. Maybe that’s a four-game suspension, maybe it’s an entire year. Who knows. But one thing is for certain — if he walks away from this mostly unscathed, the Eagles will make a strong push to get him.
Now, that’s a big ‘if.’ There will be pressure on the NFL to hand down serious punishment to Watson. If the noise is loud enough, the NFL will more than likely follow suit and suspend the 26-year-old quarterback accordingly.
Howie Roseman and the Eagles have proven throughout the years that they’re willing to bring in questionable characters in the name of reaching a championship. Granted, we live in a different world now and there will absolutely be a group of Eagles fans who want nothing to do with Watson. Still, the NFL is about winning games and Watson definitely improves the Eagles chances of doing that.
Although this Watson story has lost steam over the past few months, once the offseason is in full swing, this will once again be one of the most interesting storylines to follow in the NFL.
You may not like Watson for what he’s accused of doing, but when a 26-year-old Pro Bowl quarterback becomes available, morals typically get thrown out the window. That’s just the truth.
1. Russell Wilson
The Russell Wilson noise seems to shift every other day. One day he’s considering forcing his way out, the next day he’s focused on bouncing back with Pete Carroll in Seattle.
On a recent interview with SiriusXM’s Chris Russo, Wilson stated that he plans on staying in Seattle. “My hope and goal is to be back [in Seattle] and keep winning there. That’s the vision, that’s the goal. That’s always been it, never been anything different.” Yet, in the following days, NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported that Seattle wants to at least “explore their options” this offseason.
Deciphering the noise is a waste of time in this instance. The truth it, Howie will be on the phone with Seattle to try and pry Russ away. And he won’t be the only GM doing it. But he’ll be the only GM with enough ammo to entice Seattle into making a move.
Three first-round picks this year, along with a 23-year-old quarterback who they can dangle to persuade Seattle into hitting the rebuild button early. Given Seattle’s current roster and their lack of first-round picks over the past two years, you could argue that they would be silly to let this opportunity slip away.
Wilson is good enough to lift the talent around him, but he’s been doing it in Seattle for the past few years now. Sure, he has some solid receivers, but Seattle has had one of the worst offensive lines in the league in recent years and they’ve changed play callers multiple times.
Philadelphia presents sustainability on both of those fronts. The Eagles offensive line is top-5 in the league and Nick Sirianni will continue calling the plays for the foreseeable future. Plus, they have some pretty solid pass catchers. DeVonta Smith has as much potential as any young receiver in the league and Dallas Goedert proved he’s a good to great TE1 in this league. Not to mention, the Eagles have an elite ground attack, something Seattle hasn’t had since the Marshawn Lynch days.
Wilson is really the only quarterback on the trade market that makes sense for the Eagles. He’s a proven winner, a future Hall of Fame quarterback who will elevate this current roster, and he would fit perfectly into the Eagles offense.
There will be detractors that try and tell you Wilson is washed up, but it’s not true. Before he suffered an injury on his throwing hand last season, Wilson was on an MVP pace. He threw 10 touchdowns to just one interception, completed 72% of his passes and posted a passer rating of 125.3 through the first five games of the season.
Howie won’t overpay for Wilson, but at the end of the day, he might not have to. If Seattle wants to kickstart their rebuild, they’ll have the opportunity to. If the price is right, Russ will be an Eagles next season.
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