Veteran free agents to eye, ignore for Eagles possible backup QB vacancy
By Hunter Doyle
QB. Houston Texans. Tyrod Taylor. 5. player. 10.
The Philadelphia Eagles could sign a strong mentor for Jalen Hurts.
After a hot start to the season, Tyrod Taylor was set back by a hamstring injury. When he returned to the lineup, he looked like a shell of himself.
Davis Mills outperformed him in the back half of the Houston Texans’ season and even pulled out an upset win over the Los Angeles Chargers in the process. Given Taylor’s age and performance last season, he probably won’t be as expensive as some of the other names in the pool. At the same time, he is still a well-known name at the position, so there’s the possibility that he won’t be cheap either.
Receiving another five-million AAV deal as he did with both the Chargers and Texans is likely. PFF is projecting the same.
Taylor is a well-known mentor. Rookie quarterbacks tend to play well when they surpass him on the depth chart.
Baker Mayfield, Justin Herbert, and the aforementioned Mills have all shined with Taylor as their backup. Without being in the building, we can’t testify to the total impact he has had, but it stands to reason that he would certainly have some tips for Hurts to implement into his own game.
The offense also wouldn’t need any major adjustments if Hurts went down. Taylor could be inserted into the lineup with ease given his similar playstyle. The biggest concern would be a potential injury. At his age with his dual-threat ability, it is not a guarantee that Taylor will stay on the field. Durability is a must at the backup quarterback position.