Six things to know about new Eagles quarterback Kyle Lauletta

The Philadelphia Eagles decided to move on from 2019 fifth-round pick Clayton Thorson by signing New York Giants 2018 fourth-round pick Kyle Lauletta to their practice squad instead. Lauletta, who turned 24 in March, figures to be a developmental quarterback for the Eagles.

In an effort to better get to know Lauletta, I thought it’d benefit BGN readers to get a Giants perspective on the Exton, Pennsylvania native. So I reached out to the great Ed Valentine of Big Blue View. Here’s what he had to say.

1 - Can you recap his time with the Giants?

Fourth-round pick out of Richmond, an FCS school. Giants really liked him coming out of the Senior Bowl, where he was MVP. He took a job away from Davis Webb a year ago. Webb was a 2017 third-round pick by Jerry Reese.

Pat Shurmur kept trying to tell everyone that Lauletta wasn’t ready last year, that he had a big learning curve coming from an FCS program. He proved that by going 0-for-5 and looking awful in a late-season game vs. Washington, his only action of the year.

Looked much better this preseason and I thought he was developing into a guy who could be a backup QB, but the drafting of Daniel Jones and his brush with the law last year pushed him out the door.

2 - How did Giants fans react to him getting cut? And then him signing with the Eagles?

Giants fans aren’t really happy about either occurrence I don’t think. The first part is more about some fans wondering ‘why on Earth do the Giants keep a guy like Alex Tanney and cut a second-year player with upside?’ The second part is, well, you know what the second part is.

3 - What are his strengths?

Lauletta is smart. He has mobility. Once he learns the playbook and his receivers he throws with good timing and anticipation. He’s a competitive guy.

4 - What are his weaknesses?

His primary weakness is probably arm strength. He can offset it with timing and anticipation, but it does show up at times on deeper throws.

5 - On a scale of 1-10 (10 being most likely), what’s your confidence level in him becoming a reliable NFL backup quarterback? Do you think he has any legitimate starting potential?

He showed signs of developing into a capable backup in some of his preseason work this year, and Shurmur admitted he had improved greatly from a year ago. Quarterback is so unpredictable, but I think he’s got a shot at having a long career as a backup QB. I’d put it around 5 or 6. I don’t think he has the physical tools to ever be anyone’s franchise guy, but I do believe he could become a No. 2.

6 - Anything to know about him off the field?

Had an incident last October where he was arrested by Weehawken, N.J. police and charged with eluding police, resisting arrest, and obstructing administration of law in addition to motor vehicle charges like reckless driving and disregarding an officer’s directions. And disregarding an officer’s directions. Apparently, Lauletta was late getting to practice. Police said this wasn’t the first time they had deal with Lauletta driving recklessly.

Honestly, that seemed out of character. I’ve talked to him a number of times. Good guy. Studied leadership at Richmond. I hope he does well. Unless, of course, he is playing against the Giants.

Thanks again to Ed. Here’s some bonus content on Lauletta: