Recent Eagles free-agent signings that just didn’t pan out
8. player. 54. . . . Carson Strong, QB (2022 UDFA)
The quarterback factory produced a star in Jalen Hurts. Joe Flacco’s resurrection and Carson Strong’s gamble… not so much
The 2022 pre-draft process was a stressful time for Carson Strong. It’s tough enough to grab the attention of an NFL franchise when the world knows Kenny Pickett, Malik Willis, Matt Corral, Desmond Ridder, and Sam Howell are just better prospects. Things tighten even further when there are serious medical concerns.
Philly believed in Strong enough to sign him to an undrafted free-agent rookie deal after the 2022 NFL Draft and give him a $20,000 signing bonus and a $300,000 base guarantee. The goal was to determine whether or not he had anything to offer. It was learned quickly that he didn’t.
Four months after signing, he was released on August 30th. On March 19th of 2023, he signed with the USFL’s Michigan Panthers.
player. 54. . . . Joe Flacco, QB (2021). 7
Had Joe Flacco joined the Birds as a rookie or after the Baltimore Ravens’ Super Bowl run, this could have been a fun connection. It just made sense, seeing as how he was an Audubon, New Jersey product that played at Delaware. Sadly, however, his career fizzled quickly after being named Super Bowl XLVII MVP.
Philly signed him on March 25th of 2021 in hopes that he could be a veteran backup to Jalen Hurts. They traded him back to the New York Jets on October 25th for a conditional sixth-round draft pick after Jets starting quarterback Zach Wilson suffered a knee injury, and with that, his run with the Eagles was over.
He never registered a regular-season stat for the Birds. He’s currently a free agent. The quarterback factory churned out a nice product in Jalen Hurts, but if Carson Strong and Joe Flacco didn’t teach us anything else, we’ve learned, at times, the doors of the quarterback factory have to be closed for maintenance.
