Following injuries to backup quarterbacks Nate Sudfeld and Cody Kessler, the Philadelphia Eagles pulled long-time veteran Josh McCown out of retirement. What their head coach, Doug Pederson, likes most about him is his age.
McCown (40) joins Tom Brady (42) and Drew Brees (40) as the only NFL quarterbacks over the age 40. Pederson likes that because, “he's close to my age,” as he said via Delaware News Journal's Martin Frank.
“Listen, he’s a veteran quarterback, Pederson said per Frank. “He’s been around. He’s seen a lot. He’s a guy that just can add a lot of knowledge and depth in that room… Obviously, he played this position and started a ton of games in this league, excited to get him going and get him up to speed.”
Pederson is 51 years old, 11 years older than McCown. But, he has a point. The Eagles' current quarterback room is filled with youngsters. The coach has 25 years over Carson Wentz, 26 over Sudfeld, 25 over Kessler, and 28 over rookie Clayton Thorson.
On signing with the Eagles, McCown said per Frank,
“There were only a certain number of teams I think I would be interested in and that met the criteria I talked about, and this was certainly one of them. It was cool when this opportunity came up and we started to talk about it as a family. They were excited, and they were like, ‘Man, you gotta go.’”
The Eagles will be the 11th NFL team McCown has suited up for. He spent the last two seasons with the New York Jets. In 2018, played in four games, started three, and recorded 539 yards and one touchdown to four interceptions on a 54.5% completion rate.
Widely regarded as a “player-coach,” the Eagles are likely looking for McCown to mentor Wentz, and probably don't want to see him play in 2019.
Follow Us
Subscribe