Josh McCown Addition Satisfies at Least Two Objectives for Eagles

The decision to add the veteran QB to the practice squad was one of a handful of shrewd moves made by GM Howie Roseman during Labor Day weekend

PHILADELPHIA – There were a handful of shrewd moves made by Eagles general manager Howie Roseman during Labor Day weekend, none more so perhaps than signing Josh McCown to the team’s practice squad on Sunday.

That would be 41-year old Josh McCown.

Roseman took advantage of the relaxed rules regarding the practice squad, rules put into place to help combat a potential COVID-19 outbreak among teams this fall, by adding a super-veteran quarterback then allowing him to remain at his home in East Texas.

Teams are allowed to keep 16 players on the practice squad and six of those can be vested veterans, like McCown.

The flip side is, McCown now becomes the oldest practice squad player in the history of the NFL.

“With the new practice squad rules and being in a pandemic, being in a situation that's a little not normal from a season standpoint and players, it just made sense to have a guy that we're familiar with,” said head coach Doug Pederson. “He's played on this team. He knows our team. He knows our system, that we can keep on the practice squad and keep him plugged in.”

The move satisfies at least two objectives.

First, it gives the Eagles a quarterback that can remain in quarantine away from the team should something catastrophic happen in-season to any of the group of three: Carson Wentz, Nate Sudfeld, and Jalen Hurt.

McCown will join the quarterback meetings via videoconference during game week.

If he’s needed, he’d have to be signed to the active roster and pass at least two COVID tests before he could practice with the team and be on-site.
Second, the move gives the Eagles another “coaches” voice.

That is what McCown is, having practically seen it all at this point. The Eagles had talked to McCown after last season ended – when he made his playoff debut in relief of a concussed Wentz early in the first quarter of the eventual playoff loss to the Seahawks - about joining their offensive coaching staff in some capacity.

McCown, though, wasn’t quite ready to retire, believing that, even after turning 41 on July 4 and having already played for nine different teams in a 17-year career, he still had something left to offer.

“I’m very excited about it,” said Wentz. “Having Josh around last year was huge for me, but really for this entire building. He provided a lot of insight, a lot of energy. He was kind of a mentor to a lot of guys.

“He’s twice the age of some guys in this building, so I always give him a little crap for that. It’s awesome to have him back. ... I’m pretty proud of him also for setting another record this year for being the oldest practice squad player. He just keeps setting new records.”

According to NBC Sports’ Peter King, in his FMIA column, it was McCown’s agent, Mike McCartney, who called Roseman and asked if the GM would be interested in making his client a quarantine QB and an added insurance policy for Wentz.

“Howie said, ‘What can I do to get Josh?’” according to King.

The parties settled on paying McCown $12,000 week, which amounts to $204,000 for the regular season.

“The Eagles love Josh, and he loves them,” McCartney told King.

Roseman’s other shrewd moves included releasing 12 players on Thursday heading into Labor Day weekend, a time when teams were still figuring out their 53-man rosters so they wouldn’t necessarily be able to focus on the dozen players the Eagles cut.

The move allowed them to clear waivers 24 hours later and open the door for the Eagles to bring them back as soon as the practice squad construction could begin Sunday afternoon.

“We didn't want to be in a position to be sweating out moves (Sunday at noon), and we wanted to have some certainty about some guys that we knew either were claimed or weren't claimed,” said Roseman on Saturday evening.

Roseman also chose to release vested veteran cornerback Cre’Von LeBlanc on Sunday to make room for roster claim running back Jason Huntley, knowing that LeBlanc could be brought back as soon as Monday because LeBlanc didn’t have to pass through waivers where any team could have grabbed him. Sure enough, LeBlanc returned on Monday morning.

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