Getting to know new Eagles quarterback Matt McGloin

The Philadelphia Eagles made an addition to their quarterback room earlier this week be signing veteran free agent Matt McGloin. A number of Eagles fans are already familiar with McGloin due to his Penn State career. Here’s a closer look at his time in the NFL so far thanks to inside insight from SB Nation Oakland Raiders blog Silver And Black Pride. Big thanks to Levi Damien for answering my questions.

1 - What was the Raiders fan reaction to Matt McGloin signing with the Eagles? Did people expect Oakland to re-sign him at all?

He was not expected to re-sign with the Raiders. He was asked following the Raiders final game what he was looking for as a free agent and he said he wanted to go somewhere he would have a chance to compete for a starting job. That was as sure a signal as any that he was leaving Oakland because he knew he had no shot of unseating Derek Carr. My guess is after a month with no interest as a free agent, Philly became his best option, including playing close to home.

2 - What are his strengths?

He's extremely confident and thrives when people doubt him (which is a LOT). He's is the embodiment of grit. He works very hard. Anyone who knows his story from his story from his Penn State days can tell you that.

3 - What are his weaknesses?

He isn't the most physically gifted athlete. Though he will surprise you now and then with a throw you didn't know he had in his arsenal, usually he doesn't show great arm strength or velocity.

4 - His career numbers don’t look great. How was he able to last as the backup in Oakland for four years? Can you recap his Raiders career a little bit?

He stuck around by consistently doing solid work. While the Raiders kept trying to find a better option, McGloin just kept going about his business and proving himself to be the best option. He came to the Raiders on a tryout after having already had tryouts with a couple other NFL teams and not making the squad. The Raiders had signed a priority free agent who was unable to attend OTA's due to having to finish his degree. McGloin was just brought in initially to fill in until the other guy was available. McGloin performed so well, they just went with him instead. He joined the team behind Matt Flynn, who the team had acquired via trade in the offseason, and former supplemental draft third round pick Terrelle Pryor. Flynn had arm fatigue and lost the job to Pryor early in the season. Flynn eventually was given a start, performed terribly and was cut a week later. A few games later, Pryor had been on a streak of historic ineptitude, prompting the team to turn to McGloin. He won his first start in Houston, but was unable to win another game that season, starting a total of six games. The following year, Pryor was released and the team drafted Derek Carr. They also signed Matt Schaub in the hopes he could allow Carr to ease into the starting job. Schaub was done, his arm was shot, so Carr started right away, and McGloin was the third QB. Schaub was let go after that and McGloin once again found himself as the primary backup again. The team brought in Christian Ponder in the offseason, but McGloin won the primary backup job. They drafted Connor Cook last year, and McGloin retained the primary backup job.

5 - McGloin currently figures to be the Eagles’ third string quarterback. Nick Foles is virtually locked in as the Eagles’ backup, but do you think there’s any chance McGloin could outperform him?

You would probably know better than I do on that one. I like Nick Foles for the most part. He has all the tools and had some good performances for the Eagles. No doubt that carries some weight around there. All I can say is he better be on his toes. McGloin will hang around and take his job if he's not careful.

6 - Anything to know about him off the field?

He has every member of the Raiders media and a good portion of the fans blocked on twitter. He said over the years whenever he read anything that criticized him or anyone on the team, he would block that person. It was a surprise to a lot of fans to find out they had been blocked at some point by McGloin. Many of whom only discovered it when he was to get the start for the season finale and sought him out on Twitter.