Philadelphia Eagles officially sign QB Dennis Dixon

The Eagles have agreed to terms on a 2 year deal with free agent QB Dennis Dixon today, according to his agent. It's a move that been rumored since soon after Chip Kelly took over and one that reunites the new coach with one of his most successful QBs at Oregon.

"We are excited to bring in Dennis Dixon to compete at the quarterback position," said Eagles general manager Howie Roseman. "Dennis is a veteran in this league that has been a part of two Super Bowl-winning teams in his career. He's also very familiar with Chip Kelly and how he operates."

Dixon was previously on the Ravens practice squad, but practice squad players automatically become unrestricted free agents a week or so after the Super Bowl.

It's a sensible, if not pretty minor move by the Eagles to add some depth at QB and a guy that has familiarity with the concepts that Chip Kelly's system is likely to be based on. The two had a very productive relationship at Oregon when Kelly was still the Ducks' offensive coordinator. He finished 5th in the Heisman voting in 2007 after a season where he threw 20 TDs and ran for another 9 while turning the ball over just 4 times.

Dixon entered the NFL as a 5th round pick of the Steelers in 2008. He would go on to start 3 games for Pittsburgh including 2 in 2008. He won the first won over the Falcons, but tore his meniscus in the 2nd and was put on IR. He completed 68% of his passes in those 2 games for 254 yards and an INT.

As it stands now, it looks like Dixon will be competing for the 3rd QB spot, but when camp opens it's probably all up for grabs. Chip Kelly isn't beholden to any of these players nor does have any attachment to them like Andy Reid may have. So could Dennis Dixon challenge for the #2 job? Sure, why not?

After all, he does have 2 Super Bowl rings :)