Eagles add 2018 Giants draft pick to practice squad over Clayton Thorson

Now that the waiver wire claims are done, teams can begin filling their practice squads, and in a pretty interesting move, the Eagles decided to sign former Giants quarterback Kyle Lauletta rather than their fifth-round draft pick Clayton Thorson.

Lauletta was drafted in the fourth round in 2018 by the Giants and despite not having much playing time his rookie year, was clearly pushed to the side when New York drafted Daniel Jones in the first round in 2019.

The second-year QB did have a pretty good preseason this year, and capped it off in Week 4 with a win over the Patriots, and going 22-of-40 for 247 yards and 2 touchdowns.

“I said it last week, it’s a credit to Kyle the way he came in here every day and worked to get better and competed after we drafted Daniel,” Shurmur said, according to the team site. “Not every guy would respond that way, and Kyle improved as a result. So there was a lot to consider in that decision, but ultimately we decided to go with Tanney.”

The Eagles had been positive about Thorson throughout the preseason, who had some impressive moments, but overall was pretty underwhelming. Doug Pederson and Mike Groh both gave him credit for his effort as a rookie, and acknowledged that making the transition from college QB to the NFL often takes more than one offseason.

Howie Roseman elaborated on their decision to waive a fifth-round draft pick, just months after making the selection:

“When we made the decision to sign Josh [McCown], obviously that put Clayton in a tough spot and we look back at the position we’ve been in the past couple of years and that quarterback room, and just how Josh would fit in with Carson. Sometimes we forget that Carson is 26 years old, and Nate [Sudfeld] is a young player, and having that veteran in there with those guys, and you see the chemistry developing already. Really excited about that quarterback room, by the same token obviously then you let go of a fifth round pick.”

But clearly, it was more than just a veteran presence the Eagles were looking for when they made the decision to move on from Thorson.