The Philadelphia Eagles announced on Monday that they signed quarterback Nick Mullens — now a third passer option for a team that has some major questions to answer ahead of the 2021 season.
Mullens took advantage of a dysfunctional quarterback situation in San Francisco with the 49ers to appear in 19 games with 16 starts over the past three seasons after being signed as an undrafted free agent out of Southern Mississippi.
He performed admirably when called upon as a backup, completing 64.5% of his passes in those 19 games for 4,714 yards with 25 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. However, he went just 5-11 as a starter.
Last season, the 26-year-old started eight games, throwing for 2,437 yards with 12 touchdowns and 12 picks. It included an impressive outing against the New York Giants in which he hit on 25-of-36 for 343 yards and a touchdown.
His season was cut short in Week 15, though, when he suffered an elbow injury against the Dallas Cowboys but is expected to be fully healthy this summer.
First-year Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has made it known since his hiring that he wants to create competition at the quarterback position, which wasn’t necessarily easy to do after the team traded Carson Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts — thus leaving Jalen Hurts as the clear-cut No. 1 man under center.
General manager Howie Roseman first brought in a former Super Bowl MVP in Joe Flacco before bringing in Mullens, though neither provide an initial ‘wow’ factor that is expected to legitimately challenge Hurts for the starting job.
