Philadelphia Eagles: 15 greatest quarterbacks in franchise history
54. . QB. (1952-57). Bobby Thomason. 12. player
Bobby Thomason’s career with the Eagles was quite unique. He spent six seasons in Philadelphia after playing with the Los Angeles Rams and the Green Bay Packers during his first two years.
The Eagles brought Thomason on the team, where they mixed him in with the previously mentioned Adrian Burk. As the Eagles’ believed they had two solid quarterbacks at the time in Thomason and Burk, they were expected to split time.
The Eagles’ method during that stretch of seasons was “going with the hot hand”. Nowadays, that method could be detrimental to a locker room, affecting a team as a whole, but back then, the NFL was much different. Egos were aside, and both Thomason and Burk were totally on board with whatever their head coach Jim Triamble was wanted to do at the time.
Thomason was a three-time Pro Bowler during his time with the Eagles. While with the organization, he achieved a record of 18-24-2. Although his contributions were a collective effort, Thomason was vital in leading the Eagles to three consecutive winning seasons early on.
His most notable accomplishment in Philly at the time was becoming the first player to throw for over 400 yards in a single game while wearing an Eagles’ uniform.
This particular question regarding Thomason’s time with the Eagles will always remain: What if Thomason had the franchise to himself, rather than splitting time with Burk? Would the Eagles have been more successful? Or would Burk surpass his former partner’s accomplishments?
Something we’ll never get the answer to, but we can’t help but ponder about the scenario, considering the impact that Thomason had on limited time.