Don't Read Too Much Into Eagles' QB Upgrade

Howie Roseman is in people’s heads around the NFL.

The Eagles’ GM is considered the best in the NFL and a future Hall of Famer, building three Super Bowl teams in eight years and helping deliver the only two Lombardi Trophies in franchise history with two different coaches and three quarterbacks when you consider the tag off from an injured Carson Wentz to Nick Foles in 2017-18.

The acquisitions of a middling QB2 and a swing tackle who was graded by Pro Football Focus as No. 74 of 81 last season were treated like bold chess moves this week instead of the minimal upgrades they were.

The deal for QB Sam Howell was essentially for a move down from the fifth round to the sixth round next April, along with a 2027 seventh-round pick. 

Inside the building, the Howell trade was more about having a representative backup for Jalen Hurts early in the season while Tanner McKee recovers from a fracture on the top of the thumb on his throwing hand.

However, two separate NFL executives conflated it to Eagles On SI as insurance in case another team bites on McKee and sends “a crazy offer” Philadelphia’s way.

You never say never on that kind of thing because QB desperation is real in many cities around the NFL, and McKee has been very impressive in his short windows of playing time. That said, it’s hard to imagine anyone offering Roseman a deal he couldn’t refuse without seeing McKee excel for a larger stretch in the regular season.

More so, that would mean Jalen Hurts is injured and McKee is keeping afloat a Super Bowl-level roster, so any trade possibility is kicked over until after the 2025 season.

As for Howell, yes he played a lot for a four-win Washington team in 2023 and threw for nearly 4,000 yards, along with a league-high 21 interceptions, but he only got four months in Minnesota, which desperately needs a competent backup for the unproven J.J. McCarthy.

That’s a red flag because Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell is considered the go-to guy in the NFL right now when it comes to working with quarterbacks after resuscitating Sam Darold’s career, and working wonders with players like Josh Dobbs and Nick Mullens during injury stretches.

O’Connell bailing on Howell so short into his Vikings tenure, ironically for the 32-year-old Wentz, should resonate a little more.

The real story here is less splashy.

Howell is an upgrade over sixth-round rookie Kyle McCord and Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who was acquired for last year’s Eagles’ backup Kenny Pickett.

The Eagles are waiving both McCord and Thompson-Robinson, although there is a good chance McCord is back on the practice squad because his preseason play will not merit a 53-man roster spot in another city.  

The latest “QB factory” move isn’t about 3D Chess as much as putting out a clearance item to replace two discontinued models.