If you like what a player brings to the table, add him to the mix and see what develops. That's basically the thinking with the Eagles' move to add quarterback Matt McGloin to a quarterback room with starter Carson Wentz and backup Nick Foles already in place.
The Eagles announced the one-year deal with McGloin on Monday, a move nobody outside of the NovaCare Complex saw coming. It's an intriguing move, and an example that every single spot on the 90-man roster means something, and that you just can't take anything for granted in the NFL.
McGloin is a seasoned NFL quarterback, having played in the league for four seasons, with seven starts. Six of those starts happened in the 2013 season and his first NFL appearance, ironically, was the game in which Foles tied an NFL record with seven touchdown passes to beat the Oakland Raiders. From that day, November 3 to be exact, things have changed so much for both McGloin and Foles.
Foles, of course, was traded by the Eagles to St. Louis in the Sam Bradford trade (the first Sam Bradford trade, actually) of 2015. McGloin's career path changed after 2013 when the Raiders selected Derek Carr in the second round of the 2014 draft and made him the starter. McGloin has thrown all of 66 passes in the three seasons since Carr became a Raider.
And now McGloin is an Eagle, hopeful that he'll get the right kind of coaching and take his game to a new level and maybe stick here as a reserve behind Wentz and Foles. The Eagles kept two quarterbacks on the roster in 2016 and may very well do the same thing in 2017. At the very least, McGloin is here to compete in practice and work hard to impress quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo and the coaching staff – as well as the 31 other teams in the quarterback-needy NFL.
It's a no-lose situation for the Eagles, who likely have a team-friendly deal in place with McGloin. His arrival doesn't mean the Eagles will ignore quarterback in the draft because, as stated in the first few words above, "If you like a player …"
What this means is that the Eagles are three-deep at the quarterback position. All three have played and won games in the NFL. All three will get outstanding coaching from DeFilippo and offensive coordinator Frank Reich and head coach Doug Pederson. Wentz doesn't need to take every rep. He's got 16 regular season starts in the system under his belt and he's got the system down. Foles and McGloin have enough experience in the NFL to pick up the system quickly, including the unique verbiage of this offense.
It's been some time since the Eagles felt so solid one through three on the quarterback depth chart. In a very short period of time, and while it's taken a wild ride of 12 months to get to this point, the Eagles have set themselves in a very good situation at the game's most important position.
Think about the preseason and the benefits of having three game-ready quarterbacks on the field for those games. If McGloin is taking third-team reps in August, his experience helps the other 10 players show to the best of their abilities. McGloin will get the football out quickly and he'll get it to the right spot. Third-team receivers will be appreciative that McGloin is in the pocket making throws, rather than a quarterback who has not been in the NFL and doesn't have a future in the league.
This is all about adding pieces to the roster. The Eagles are adding one at a position where maybe some out there think they don't need a player. But every little bit helps. McGloin is here in a supporting role, a hopeful role, so we'll see how it goes.
But the move is a good one. Every spot on the roster matters. There is more competition in the quarterback room, and there is an upgraded situation at a position – No. 3 quarterback – that usually doesn't have a lot of quality.
