Nick Mullens, Eagles agree to contract

The Philadelphia Eagles agreed to terms with free agent quarterback Nick Mullens on Monday morning, according to an official announcement from the team.

The Eagles had a need for another passer after unexpectedly waiving undrafted rookie free agent signing Jamie Newman last week. Mullens is now the third quarterback under contract behind presumed starter Jalen Hurts and veteran backup Joe Flacco.

You may remember Mullens as one of four starting quarterbacks the Eagles defeated in 2020. The San Francisco 49ers actually benched him in favor of C.J. Beathard, who gave the Eagles a little scare towards the end of that game.

Mullens, 26, originally signed with the 49ers after going unselected in the 2017 NFL Draft. Injuries to Jimmy Garoppolo allowed him to log 16 starts over the past three seasons. He went 5-11 as a starter with a 64.5% completion rate for 4,714 yards (7.9 average), 25 touchdowns, 22 interceptions, and an 87.2 passer rating. He also fumbled eight times while only gaining 30 rushing yards.

For what it’s worth, Pro Football Focus graded Mullens 38th out of 42 quarterbacks last season. That’s one spot higher than Flacco finished. Speaking of, maybe the Eagles should have just signed Mullens to be their QB2 for the minimum instead of nonsensically guaranteeing $3.5 million to Flacco? Too late now.

Ideally, the Eagles would’ve been able to add a developmental project to their quarterback room but they apparently couldn’t find one they liked. You might be able to argue Mullens has some untapped potential but, eh, we’ve seen a decent sample size from him to know he’s probably just a backup at best.

It’s unclear if the Eagles will keep three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster this season but Mullens might have a chance to stick around. In the meantime, the offseason roster is now filled to capacity at 90 players.

(Side note: Kind of funny how the Eagles and 49ers basically traded Nate Sudfeld for Mullens.)