PHILADELPHIA: In essence, veteran quarterback Marcus Mariota agreed to a $5 million, one-year contract to serve as the Philadelphia Eagles’ backup quarterback for Jalen Hurts during the previous campaign.
But from an accounting standpoint, Mariota, 30, signed a five-year contract for salary-cap reasons, which became formally invalid on Monday. The Eagles will receive a cap number of $1,932,000 for the 2023 season with Mariota; but, the remaining $5 million, or $3,068,000, will be carried over to the 2023 cap if the vacuum is filled.
The Eagles’ decision about backup quarterback Tanner McKee could provide insight into the organization’s assessment of McKee’s potential as a second-year player and whether or not a deep postseason run is still attainable at the NovaCare Complex.
Since the team emerged as a contender in 2017 and rode No. 2, Nick Foles, to the lone Super Bowl victory in the franchise’s history—Carson Wentz had done the heavy lifting during the regular season before sustaining an ACL/LCL tear—the backup quarterback position in Philadelphia has been a fascinating one.
With Wentz and Foles, the Eagles were able to come back one more time in 2018. However, by 2019, Josh McCown, a 17-year-old, was brought in to coach Wentz, who had suffered a torn hamstring after being knocked out early in the playoffs against Seattle due to a concussion. Foles had left for Jacksonville or an unfortunate stint as a starter.
Doug Pederson’s final season in 2020 saw a complete collapse, in part due to the Eagles’ choice to choose Jalen Hurts with the 53rd overall pick in the second round rather than a seasoned backup.
The original idea was to have a cheap backup for Wentz, who was still the franchise quarterback at the time, and eventually spin off Hurts for a sizable draft pick if he demonstrated improvement during what was anticipated to be limited playing time. This strategy has since been revised.
Rather, late in Hurts’ rookie campaign, Wentz collapsed and was benched in favor of the latter. Even so, Philadelphia intended to give it another go with Wentz, and Nick Sirianni was brought in with the concept of a Wentz reclamation project after Pederson was ousted for having a taller stature than his coaching staff.
But Wentz had turned the corner on the Eagles, pushing his way out and essentially giving Hurts the reins. The improbable playoff run that ensued was followed by the Eagles, who were smart enough to hedge their chances with Joe Flacco and Gardner Minshew, a late-August trade acquisition.
Minshew, who had a lot of starting experience with the Jaguars, took over as the No. 2 quarterback for the remainder of the 2021 and 2022 season when Flacco was dealt back to the New York Jets.
After taking over for injured rookie Anthony Richardson in Indianapolis, Minshew accompanied former Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen to the Pro Bowl.
The Eagles had to find a new backup, and they chose Mariota, the second overall choice in the 2015 draft, who was once the talk of Philadelphia as a possible pick for Chip Kelly.
We use all of that recent past to show you that the Eagles have favored a seasoned backup quarterback when they think a deep playoff run is imminent.
The rationale is that in a football-crazed city like this, a known product is better suited to survive a game or two while also acting as insurance against giving up on a season entirely in the event that a catastrophic injury sidelines the starter.
Mariota is unlikely to play for the Eagles again in the future until all West Coact avenues are closed to the native Hawaiian.
In all honesty, if given the chance, Mariota would have chosen to remain in the west during the previous season.
The available developmental option is McKee, a more conventional pocket passer selected in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft who may be a better fit for the offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s past work in Dallas and with the LA Chargers.
The choice to move McKee up to No. 2 ultimately comes down to fit with Moore; moreover, it would confirm the Stanford product’s status as a genuine prospect because the Eagles won’t start a playoff-bound season with a backup quarterback they don’t trust.