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The Philadelphia Eagles were passed over by a notable Super Bowl champion quarterback in free agency.
According to Rob Maadi of The Associated Press, the Eagles offered a contract to Joe Flacco in free agency. However, the 39-year-old quarterback and 2023 Comeback Player of the Year passed over the opportunity and instead signed a one-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts worth up to $8.7 million in incentives.
“Before agreeing to a deal with the #Colts, Joe Flacco had an offer from the #Eagles and the #Saints were also interested in the veteran QB and 2023 AP Comeback Player of the Year,” writes Maadi.
Why Joe Flacco Chose Colts Over Eagles
Flacco previously spent time with the Eagles at the beginning of the 2021 season as the backup to Jalen Hurts. However, he was traded to the New York Jets in the middle of the season after starting quarterback Zach Wilson suffered an injury.
The signing would have made sense for both sides considering the Eagles lost their backup quarterback, Marcus Mariota, to the Washington Commanders. Meanwhile, Flacco was born in Audubon, New Jersey, which is just 19 miles away from Philadelphia.
However, money and potential playing time may have played a role in Flacco’s decision. It’s unclear what the Eagles were offering Flacco, but it probably didn’t come close to the $8.7 million in potential money he could earn from the Colts.
Furthermore, while Anthony Richardson remains the starter, he is far from cemented as being a sure thing as the franchise quarterback of the Colts. Following Richardson’s own season-ending injury, Gardner Minshew started from Week 5 until 18 and nearly led Indianapolis into the playoffs. However, he signed with the Las Vegas Raiders early in free agency.
Barring injury, Jalen Hurts is the franchise quarterback of the Eagles and signed a previous-record $255 million contract extension.
Joe Flacco Revived Career by Leading Browns to Playoffs
The veteran quarterback revived his career towards the end of the 2023 season after signing with the Cleveland Browns. Flacco landed with the team after Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending injury. He became the starter after Dorian Thompson-Robinson suffered an injury in a Week 13 game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Flacco promptly went 4-1 as the starter while leading the Browns into the playoffs. He completed 13 touchdowns against eight interceptions for a 90.2 passer rating and 7.9 yards per pass attempt. His playoff start against the Houston Texans was nine years since his last playoff start, the second-longest gap in NFL history behind Doug Flutie, who did it 12 years later after starting a playoff game (1987 until 1999).
For perspective on how good Flacco was during his short tenure with the Browns, he made NFL history when he became the first quarterback to throw for at least 250 yards and multiple touchdowns in his first five games with his new team.
Over the course of Flacco’s 16-year career, he’s thrown for 43,936 yards with 245 touchdowns in 188 games. In addition to his plethora of regular season experience, he’s also started 16 games. He also won a Super Bowl and a Super Bowl MVP with the Baltimore Ravens at the conclusion of the 2012 season.
With the Eagles missing out on Flacco, 2023 sixth-round pick Tanner McKee is the primary backup to Hurts.
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