Eagles QB search tightens as Jacoby Brissett, Tyrod Taylor, and Ryan Fitzpatrick all sign elsewhere | NFL free agency
Jalen Hurts is the only quarterback under contract for next year going into free agency, so the Eagles will need to add two or maybe even three quarterbacks this offseason.
If the Eagles hope to land an established backup quarterback for the start of next season, they’ll have to act quickly.
Even though Jalen Hurts is the only quarterback currently under contract for next season, the Eagles watched several free-agent passers fly off the board Tuesday, including Tyrod Taylor, Jacoby Brissett, and Andy Dalton. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jameis Winston also signed new deals late Monday.
The team was tied to both Taylor and Brissett because of the pair’s experience with members of the Eagles’ new coaching staff. Taylor played for Eagles’ offensive coordinator Shane Steichen the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers, while Brissett had head coach Nick Sirianni as his offensive coordinator with the Indianapolis Colts for the last three years.
Taylor, a dual-threat signal-caller who served as a bridge to rookie Justin Herbert last season, agreed to an incentive-laden, one-year contract reportedly worth between $6 million and $12 million with the Houston Texans. He was Philip Rivers’ backup in 2019 and started one game last season before getting hurt in Week 2 and giving way to Chargers rookie quarterback Justin Herbert for the rest of the year. In Houston, he’ll either back up Deshaun Watson, or start in his place depending on if the star quarterback has his trade request granted.
Brissett agreed to a one-year deal with Miami to presumably mentor and backup Tua Tagovailoa, who will be going into his second year after being taken in the first round of last April’s NFL draft.
In 2019, Brissett’s last season as a full-time starter in the league, he threw 18 touchdowns and six interceptions, completed 60.9% of his passes and had a quarterback rating of 88. Like Taylor the year before, Brissett spent 2020 backing up Rivers. Brissett, 28, could have been a mentor to Hurts while also being able to teach Sirianni’s offensive scheme to Eagles players this offseason, but he’s headed elsewhere.
Fitzpatrick, a 38-year-old journeyman, agreed to a one-year contract worth roughly $10 million with the Washington Football Team late Monday. He has become a bit of a hired hand in the latter half of his career, having started a game for eight franchises in his 15 years in the league.
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Fitzpatrick, who is expected to start in Washington, spent most of the last two seasons starting for the Miami Dolphins, last year holding down the job until the Dolphins turned things over to Tagovailoa. Fitzpatrick played well enough to make the case to keep the job even after Tagovailoa took over, and twice, Fitzpatrick came in for Tagovailoa because the rookie was either struggling or hobbled by injury.
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It’s worth pointing out that Fitzpatrick has been notably successful against the Eagles. In seven games, he has thrown 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions, has a quarterback rating of 90.3 and has completed 64% of his passes.
The Eagles, who are still digging their way out of salary cap hell, are starting to run out of options for a quality fringe starter to either beat Hurts out in training camp or serve as a mentor and backup for the second-year quarterback next season.
Dalton is off the market after agreeing to a one-year, $10 million contract with the Chicago Bears. Winston agreed to a new deal late Monday: a one-year, $12 million pact to stay with the New Orleans Saints.
Alex Smith is still available, but the market for veterans with a track record of aiding in the development of younger quarterbacks is all but dried up outside of that.
Patriots double down on tight ends
Another day, another top free agent tight end headed to New England.
One day after prying free-agent tight end Jonnu Smith away from the Tennessee Titans with a four-year, $50 million contract, the Patriots cornered the market, agreeing to a three-year, $37.5 million deal with former Chargers tight end Hunter Henry on Tuesday.
Henry, 26, was widely considered the best tight end available even before Smith went off the board. In the last two seasons, Henry has caught 115 passes for 1,265 yards and nine touchdowns.
The Patriots locking up the two best tight ends on the market should help the Eagles as they search for a trade partner for Eagles’ tight end Zach Ertz. With the best two free agent options headed to the same place, it leaves an extra team desperate for tight end help, particularly the Chargers, who saw quarterback Justin Herbert flourish in his rookie year partly thanks to Henry’s steady presence in the middle of the field.
Giants re-sign Williams
Leonard Williams is staying in the division. The Giants’ defensive lineman, who will turn 27 next season, agreed to a three-year, $63 million contract to stay in New York. He spent the last season playing under the franchise tag and was set to play under it once again next season before the two sides reached an agreement.
According to Pro Football Focus, Williams had 13 sacks, which ranked second among defensive linemen to only Aaron Donald, and 62 pressures last season.