Eagles Analysis: Who will be their third quarterback?

Chip Kelly thankfully ended the most talked about 3rd string quarterback battle in NFL history this weekend as he parted ways with both Matt Barkley and Tim Tebow. Barkley was traded to the Arizona Cardinals for a conditional 7th round pick and Tebow was released as part of the Philadelphia Eagles final roster cuts. Both have up and down (mostly down) moments throughout camp and never really showed much promise. With the roster now at 52 and only 2 quarterbacks the Eagles have a spot to fill. As rosters were trimmed down to 53 players to meet Saturday’s 4 pm deadline a couple of quarterbacks became available that could be of interest to Chip Kelly.

Thad Lewis, in his 6th year in the NFL was cut Saturday by the Cleveland Browns and could be a player that interest the Eagles. Lewis has good mobility and a seems to be a solid option as 3rd string quarterback. The Eagles worked Lewis out last season so they’ve already showed some level of interest him. His numbers weren’t so impressive this preseason but he has starting experience, 1 game for the Browns in 2012 and 5 games for the Bills in 2013, that’s valuable.

Another quarterback on the open market, Josh Johnson could be of interest as well. Johnson, like Lewis, has experience starting in the NFL. Johnson has played in 26 games and started in 5 of those over the course of his 3 years with the Buccaneers. Since then Johnson has has bounced around the league a little with short stints with the Browns, Bengals, 49ers , and most recently the Jets. The most intriguing part of Johnson’s game is his mobility. His a very good athlete which the Eagles should know very well. Johnson rushed for 76 yards in the Jets preseason finale against the Eagles.

Christian Ponder, former 1st round pick of the Vikings was cut Sunday by the Raiders and could find his next home in Philadelphia. Ponder had a rocky career in Minnesota and finally got a fresh start this year but couldn’t stick. Ponder, like the 2 quarterbacks above is also a good athlete at the quarterback position which should help his cause. Ponder doesn’t have the best track record in the NFL but he has tools Chip could work with. The Eagles reportedly had interest in Ponder this offseason but he chose to sign with the Raiders. He may not seem like much of a upgrade over Barkley or Tebow but his experience playing in the league is an asset.

The third string quarterback spot has been severely over analyzed in Philadelphia this offseason but it should come to an end soon. In reality a team is in big trouble if they get down to their third quarterback. There’s a steep drop off between back up and third string so ideally you look for a player the offers something in terms of athletic ability or experience. The quarterbacks I mentioned above have that. I wouldn’t rule out a quarterback being added to the practice squad instead of the active roster but its more likely one is added that isn’t practice squad eligible because a roster spot was left open. We should know soon enough.

Next: Eagles News: Should the Birds try to trade for Kam Chancellor?

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