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Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens once threw for 414 yards in a single game back in 2018. He is one of a handful of guys very high on the Philadelphia Eagles’ wish list right now.
The Eagles are interested in signing a West Coast-style signal-caller prior to training camp, per NFL insider Adam Caplan. The plugged-in reporter said that Philly was 100% definitely going to sign a third-stringer in the coming weeks. Mullens was the most notable name followed by former Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings backup Sean Mannion. There is also an unknown third player in the quarterback mix. Here is what he said on the Inside the Birds podcast:
They are. That’s going to happen. They’re going to add one guy, um, my understanding is it’s going to be kind of a West Coast offensive guy. The names that I’m hearing … Nick Mullens, formerly of the Niners, who definitely played in a West Coast offense.
It could be a guy like Sean Mannion who played for Rams head coach Sean McVay, in a West Coast offense. There’s another one, but I don’t remember the name. Look for one of those guys to sign here as the third quarterback.
Co-host Geoff Mosher brought up Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew as a possible trade candidate to fill out the depth chart, but Caplan thinks he stays in Florida to be the backup there. The Eagles currently have just two quarterbacks on the roster: Jalen Hurts and Joe Flacco.
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Mullens Has Legit Starter’s Experience
If signed, Mullens would be stepping into an interesting situation in Philly. The 26-year-old would be expected to be the third-stringer but he could easily push Flacco for the backup job.
Remember, he nearly led the 49ers to a win over the Eagles in 2020. Mullens, who went undrafted in 2017, has started 16 games over his three-year career while throwing for 4,714 yards and 25 touchdowns. He’ll have his share of suitors on the open market, including several rumored flirtations already with the New York Jets.
Mannion is another seasoned veteran reserve. The 29-year-old spent the past two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings after a four-year run with the Los Angeles Rams. He is very familiar with the West Coast offense having run it under Rams head coach Sean McVay. The former third-round pick out of Oregon State has only started two games while throwing for 384 yards and three interceptions with no touchdowns.
What Happened with Jamie Newman?
Many thought the Eagles had panned a golden nugget out of the undrafted river in Jamie Newman. He was an explosive dual-threat college quarterback at Wake Forest who accounted for 286.8 of total offense per game as a redshirt junior in 2019. However, Newman transferred to Georgia prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and then opted out of the 2020 season. That was one reason his draft stock plummeted.
The other one? Newman has big-time accuracy issues related to poor mechanics, according to Adam Caplan. He complimented his arm strength and size but cited Kyle Boller as a cautionary tale. It’s hard to fix really bad mechanics on the fly. “He did nothing to distinguish himself [at Eagles OTAs],” Caplan said. The Eagles signed Newman off the scrap heap, then waived him last week.
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