Former Colts' Target headed to Eagles
The Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles are sharing several ties this offseason. The most obvious being the Colts hiring of Shane Steichen as head coach.
The former Eagles' offensive coordinator was key in bringing in quarterback Gardner Minshew this week as a free agent.
The Eagles quickly backfilled with former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota.
The Colts' have been linked with Mariota several times in the past, and we've considered him an ideal running mate for a rookie quarterback.
Minshew is coming to the Colts at a significant discount compared to what the Eagles are paying Mariota.
"The Colts are giving QB Gardner Minshew 3.5M fully guaranteed on a 1-year deal that can be worth up to $5.5M, source said," reported Ian Rapoport on Twitter. "There are low thresholds on the very reachable incentives."
Mariota's deal starts at $5 million and can escalate to $8 million according to reports.
A quick reaction to these two deals would indicate the Colts got the better deal.
Minshew had a 92.8 quarterback rating for the Eagles the last two seasons covering nine games and four starts.
Mariota had an 88.2 rating as the Falcons starter, but he left the Falcons in controversial fashion last season after losing his job to rookie Desmond Ridder.
He had good reason. He went to see his wife and newborn child, but he immediately had knee surgery that ended his season.
Falcons head coach Arthur Smith denied any knowledge of the injury and was caught off guard by Mariota's departure leading to rampant speculation that he had quit on the team.
Minshew and Mariota should both benefit from a fresh start, but it looks like the Colts came out on top in the hunt for a veteran-backup quarterback.
