Getty Eagles backup Josh McCown nearly led the team to a playoff victory and he hasnt ruled out a return in 2020.
The Eagles’ decision to bring Josh McCown back wasn’t for his sick scrambling skills. He does have wheels, though.
No, the 41-year-old journeyman quarterback was signed to the practice squad to be a sounding board for Carson Wentz. It’s the same role he perfected last year only this time McCown won’t be sitting next to the franchise quarterback in the meeting rooms. McCown won’t even be on the practice field. He’ll be some 1,687 miles away in Texas spitting knowledge into Wentz’s ear virtually, via a Zoom call (no droplets please). He’s the NFL’s first quarantine quarterback.
“First of all, it starts with the global pandemic,” McCown told reporters on Tuesday. “There was an understanding that this kind of new world that we’re operating in is, what happens if the quarterbacks room gets the virus? So that was what initiated the conversations and so they reached out and we started discussing what that would look like and how we would be able to distance myself and be safe and hopefully still be able to bring some virtual value to the team.”
#Eagles QB Josh McCown isn’t sure what the “quarantine” role will look like but he’s confident it’ll work.
“I think so .. because it will be different but no different than so many corporations around America right now, and even our interactions, it’s new way of doing things.”
Those conversations started a “couple of weeks” ago, according to McCown, and ended with him joining the Eagles on Sept. 6. No one is exactly sure how it’s going to work or if it’ll work. But McCown was a valued member of last year’s NFC East champions, so he figured out why not give it a shot.
He’s already been cutting up practice tape and texting with Wentz on how to improve. Staying sharp — on and off the field in this bizarre year — is the key.
“I was texting Carson last night, asking him about things I saw in practice and how sharp I thought it looked,” McCown said. “Hopefully I can bring some value to those guys as they dialogue on how reads go and different things and be another sounding board for Carson. That’s my thought process. I’ll wake up every day asking myself: How can I bring value to this team, from a distance?”
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Helping Wentz Find His Voice, Being Better Leader
One thing McCown stressed was how much of a connection he had with the guys in the Eagles’ locker room. Especially the bond he developed with the franchise quarterback. It was unbreakable, a true mentorship in every sense of the word.
“For me, last year was great just getting to spend every day with the guy [Wentz] and getting an idea of who he is as a person and what his leadership style is,” McCown said. “Especially down the stretch, as Carson was able to find his voice and serve his team, especially the young guys when we were going through the injuries, I was really impressed by that.”
#Eagles are signing QB Josh McCown to practice squad, an NFL source confirmed @AdamSchefter report. He will live in Texas and serve as emergency QB.
Move also allows McCown to be a part of team. He developed rapport with Carson Wentz and team spoke to him about OC job in Jan.
Wentz came back this year a changed man, one dedicated to leading his team in every conceivable way. He’s been forcefully vocal about social injustice while spending extra time in between reps coaching up his young receivers. Mature beyond his years. Credit McCown for the metamorphosis.
“Having Josh around last year was huge for me, but really for this entire building,” Wentz said. “He provided a lot of insight, a lot of energy.”
Think when we look back at what started this speed movement in Philly we’ll all agree ….
You’re welcome
#GoBirds
People tend to forget that Wentz is only 27. Some kids that age can’t even pay their bills on time, let alone command the respect of a locker room. Knowing what to say and when to say it can be daunting tasks and so McCown made it his mission to teach Wentz how to find his voice.
“When you’re a young player and you’re trying to decide, well, what’s my voice? Sometimes you don’t know and I guess my role was just to affirm him in those areas,” McCown said. “Think about talking like this or that … or saying this or that, you know, I think that’s the main thing for me. I’ve gotten the great privilege to be around a lot of great leaders, especially at the quarterback position, and so to be able to share that with him is always the goal.”
Eagles Never Offered McCown Coaching Job
There was a report last January that the Eagles had offered McCown an assistant coaching job. False.
While the two sides did broach the topic, McCown wasn’t ready to make that kind of commitment. He moved from North Carolina to Texas and his sons, Owen (junior) and Aiden (sophomore) — two talented high school quarterbacks — transferred to Rusk High School from Myers Park High School. His “family dynamic” wasn’t equipped for wholesale change, although his desire to coach is burning. The timing was just a tad off in 2020.
#Eagles QB Josh McCown says he’s going to “stay sharp” by using the high school field near his house in Texas and throwing it to the “2 QBs in his house” (his sons). Strange times. #FlyEaglesFly
“I’ll keep the bulk of those conversations private but we just discussed the desire to just coach and what that would look like,” McCown said. “I just knew my family dynamic and where I am. I wasn’t ready to move forward in that area right now.
But, was there an actual offer from the Eagles on the table?
“And so, yeah, we kept an open dialogue about it,” McCown said. “But there was never anything offered or anything like that. It was more just the future and things of that nature.”
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