The 49ers turned to Nick Mullens as Jimmy Garoppolo‘s primary backup over the past three seasons but did not tender him as a restricted free agent. The three-year veteran suffered an elbow injury late last season and has spent much of this year recovering from offseason surgery.
Mullens landed a gig with the Eagles last month, joining the team after the Jets expressed interest. The former UDFA out of Southern Miss has made 16 career starts, but the Eagles are not planning a first- or second-string role for their recent addition.
The team will not hold a Mullens-Joe Flacco backup competition, with Bo Wulf of The Athletic noting the QB2 job will be Flacco’s (subscription required). This is assuming the Eagles go with Jalen Hurts, and not Flacco, as their starter. While this is the expectation, new HC Nick Sirianni has not anointed Hurts as such yet.
Flacco joined the Eagles — his fourth team in four years — on a one-year deal worth $3.5MM in March. The 36-year-old passer’s contract comes fully guaranteed. Philly gave Mullens a one-year, $920K deal that includes $200K guaranteed. Mullens arrived after the Eagles waived rookie UDFA Jamie Newman during their offseason program. The Eagles are not certain to carry three QBs this season, Wulf adds, injecting some uncertainty regarding Mullens’ roster spot.
Last season, Flacco completed a career-low 55% of his passes during a five-game Jets run (four starts). Granted, the veteran was helming one of the league’s worst offenses. The former Super Bowl MVP did stay healthy in 2020, after a neck injury ended his 2019 Broncos tenure and a 2018 hip injury ushered in the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson era. Despite the Eagles bringing in a rather experienced third-string QB, Flacco is on track to work unchallenged as the team’s backup.
Shocker…
That would beg the question as to why 1. Mullens was pursued and 2. why Mullens gave up a higher spot on the depth chart (presumeably) with New York or some other team to be a third stringer. I know he’s rehabbing from elbow surgery and may need to ease back in, but if Flacco is entrenched as the number two (or Hurts in some scenario), then a 16 game starter is not going to settle for a third string role in nearly any circumstance.
It’s just curious to me, especially since Mullens was the point where many young backups would like to compete for a starting role. I hope that the Eagles release him soon if they decide to do that, so he can at least find another team to sign with.
Agreed! Mullens is probably a top 3 backup quarterback and maybe even a 1 year starter on a team like the Texans, unless, obviously, Watson comes back to the team. He can help a team. It was pretty selfish to sign him as just a camp arm!
If the point of competition is to win, wouldn’t selfishness be a virtue?
Maybe not a virtue, but helpful. Depending on what you’re planning to do, that is. It sounds like there won’t even be a competition. They signed an expensive third stringer who likely will be disgruntled at not having a chance to play at an expected position given his experience.
It is hard to understand why teams sign backups that have completely different skill sets than the starter. This guarantees that the entire offense gets disrupted if the starter goes out with an injury – thereby insuring a tail spin.
i mean, this team probably doesnt have a chance anyway
The Eagles have the softest strength of schedule this season so if they can limit injuries and turnovers they at least have a chance in the NFC East.
Yes, because the 2020 NFC East Division Champions were such a juggernaut…
If you’re depending on flacco for anything, you’re kinda screwed as it is so no harm no foul. Eagles are dice rolling as it is with Hurts. Either he balls, or the team tanks for a QB1. Just curious to see how much of a leash they give him.
MileHigh, you make a good point. Even if the backup was a young untested qb, as long as he was somewhat in the same mold it would at least make more sense.
Unless the back-up has a desired skill set that the starter doesn’t have. Think Taysom Hill in New Orleans, or even Taylor Heincike in 2018, signed because he knew Norv and Scott Turner’s system, but also kept around because Cam Newton could barely throw the ball 20 yards that year.
Agreed, but I will note cka2nd’s point is valid. I will add to that though that usually in those cases another more similar QB is retained as well, such as Jamieis Winston with Hill or Allen for Carolina.
Which may be why Allen beat out Heinicke for the QB2 job in 2019. Turner, Heinicke and Allen are now going in their their training camp (’18, ’19, ’21) and likely third season together (’18, ’20, ’21).
Agreed again, and a valid point.
Confusing headline! By listing Mullen’s name first, it implies that he’s the undisputed QB2, not Flacco.
I’m not sure that Mullens isn’t going to get a long look in training camp. We’ll see how all this shakes out but I believe Siriani when he says that the QB1 position isn’t definite. At a minimum, Mullens makes this training camp interesting.