Getty Josh McCown
The Philadelphia Eagles lured veteran quarterback Josh McCown out of retirement Saturday and fans have picked up on one crazy thing. McCown bares a striking resemblance to Rocky Balboa’s old nemesis, Ivan Drago.
McCown, who inked a one-year deal with the Eagles, has played for 10 different NFL teams in his 17-year career. He’s enjoyed moderate success in two decades, including great chemistry with receiver Alshon Jeffery. Perhaps his biggest claim to fame is looking like Dolph Ludgren, aka the actor who portrayed Russian boxer Ivan Drago in Rocky III.
The Internet was buzzing with memes and funny comments Saturday following the impromptu signing of McCown. It almost broke the internet. Seriously.
How did we not get Josh McCown as Ivan Drago’s son in Creed 2???
Is it just me or does Josh McCown look like Ivan Drago? I guess we’re Keeping up with the Eagle Celeb Look Alike Challenge.
Also welcome to the team, Josh!
The Eagles didn’t comment on the Drago comparisons but they did introduce their new quarterback with an up-close and personal video on social media.
Ready to fly, @JoshMcCown12?
McCown praised the Eagles organization for taking a chance on him, calling out Philly’s close proximity to his hometown Charlotte as a reason for signing with the team. To make room on the roster, the Eagles cut wide receiver Braxton Miller.
“The whole organization in general, just where they’ve been the last few years under Howie (Roseman) and Doug’s (Pederson) leadership, winning a championship and just the standard of excellence that they pursue and to come be a part of that and to have this opportunity this late in my career, to keep it going, I’m just excited to be part of it,” McCown told PhiladelphiaEagles.com. “More than anything, it was the comfort level I had talking with Doug, where they’re trying to take this thing and where they’re trying to get back to and understanding the expectations that they have here.”
McCown was also quick to point to the exciting opportunity to sit behind Carson Wentz and mentor the younger quarterbacks in the locker room. He called the entire decision a “quick sell.”
“I’ve been in a lot of situations throughout my career — where I was helping a young guy or serving as a stopgap kind of guy or being part of a rebuilding situation — so to come to a situation where it was more established, where they’ve got the quarterback (Carson Wentz) and a veteran defense and a lot of good players on the offense, that to me was enticing,” McCown told the team’s website. “To see how it’s done at a high level and done right, that was the dialogue with Howie and Doug. It was an easy sell, to be quite honest.”