Eagles Trade For QB Minshew: Impact on NFC East?

Jalen Hurts will likely be the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles come Week 1. Following Saturday's news, all best are off for Week 2.

The Eagles are trading for quarterback Gardner Minshew from the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a 2022 sixth-round pick. However, should Minshew play 50% of snaps in three games, the pick would actually move up to a fifth-round selection.

In a corresponding move, the Eagles have released Nick Mullens, a quarterback who signed with the organization following a three-year stint with the San Francisco 49ers.

Minshew, a sixth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, became a household name down in Duval County starting in Week 1 of the season. Prior to Minshew's start, the team had agreed to terms with Super Bowl LII hero and former Eagles quarterback Nick Foles on a four-year, $88 million contract.

Foles suffered a broken clavicle during the team's season opener, allowing Minshew to start. The team brought Foles back in as QB1 following his recovery, but he struggled to build a rapport with the receivers.

Minshew would finish out the season as the team's starter, positing a 6-6 record and leading Jacksonville to trade Foles to the Chicago Bears the following offseason.

Minshew started the first seven games of the season before a thumb injury, which he at first hid from the coaching staff, put him on the bench. He would later return to the field for two games in December but would be benched for the team's finale against the Indianapolis Colts.

After a 1-15 record, the Jaguars hired Urban Meyer and drafted Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence with the No. 1 overall pick, thus ending the "Maina" after two seasons.

For his career, Minshew has completed 501-of-797 passes for 5,530 yards with 37 TDs and 11 interceptions.

What does this mean for the NFC East?

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was initially brought in to fix Carson Wentz after a down 2020 campaign. Instead, once was traded away to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a pair of 2022 NFL Draft picks.

Hurts, who has improved under Sirianni's play-calling, wasn't the quarterback the new head coach was expecting to work with when he signed. As of now, he looks to be the leading man for the start of the new season.

That doesn't mean that he could be out of the starting role come midseason. The Eagles are projected to finished fourth in the NFC, but Minshew's starting experience could actually provide value if the offense can find consistency.

For his career, Hurts has started in just four games, going 1-3 last season with 1,061 passing yards and six touchdown against four interceptions.

The Washington Football Team will play the Eagles in Weeks 15 and 17 to close out the season. Depending on Hurts' progress, they could actually be facing the "Minshew Mania" that became a trend down in Jacksonville.