Joe Flacco trade! Eagles send backup quarterback to Jets for conditional draft pick [UPDATE]

What a steal.

The Philadelphia Eagles made a trade! As The Quarterback Factory continues to churn, the Birds are sending their top backup to the New York Jets in exchange for a conditional draft pick. The full terms:

EAGLES RECEIVE: 2022 sixth-round pick (can be a fifth based on playing time)

JETS RECEIVE: Joe Flacco

It’s currently unclear what the exact conditions are to elevate it to a fifth. But that the Eagles got anything for Flacco is … pretty surprising! And good. UPDATE: The Eagles will receive a 2022 fifth-round pick if Flacco plays more than 50% of the snaps in four games this season. Commence the Flacco pick tracker.

It was written many times that the Eagles giving Flacco $3.5 million guaranteed never made much sense. Howie Roseman can thank former Eagles vice president of player personnel and current Jets general manager Joe Douglas for bailing him out of a bad decision.

This move really makes no sense for the Jets. They need more quarterback options with Zach Wilson getting injured, sure. But sitting at 1-5, what is the value in them bringing in a 36-year-old signed to a one year deal? This trade will only serve to damage the Jets’ draft position, which is actually more good news for the Eagles with Philly wanting Miami to stay ahead of New York in the 2022 NFL Draft order.

Getting back to the Philly perspective, we wrote earlier today that it didn’t make sense for the Eagles to keep Flacco as the top backup behind starting quarterback Jalen Hurts:

There isn’t much point in benching Hurts right now; the Eagles have to keep playing him to see what they have in him. But if the team wanted to turn up the heat on him, they could start keeping Gardner Minshew active for games. They’re on track to reach a point where Minshew should be active over Flacco anyway. There’s no point in watching the latter play if the team is really bad and out of the playoff picture.

Flacco’s departure means Minshew is now the new No. 2 behind Hurts. It’s possible he could be QB1 at some point if Hurts really continues to struggle. Reid Sinnett, who was claimed off waivers on Monday evening, slots in as QB3.

The Eagles now own 11 picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. Acquiring this selection from the Jets basically replaces the conditional sixth-round pick they surrendered to acquire Minshew. Good job by Roseman.

Here’s an updated look at the Eagles’ future draft picks.

2022 NFL DRAFT

1 – from Miami Dolphins

1 – Eagles’ own pick

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1 – from Indianapolis Colts*

2 – Eagles’ own pick

3 – Eagles’ own pick

4 – Eagles’ own pick

5 – Eagles’ own pick

5 – from Washington Football Team

5 – from Arizona Cardinals

6 – from New York Jets**

6 – from Indianapolis Colts

*The Colts will send a first-round pick to the Eagles if one of the following two conditions is met: 1) Carson Wentz plays 75% of Indy’s snaps … OR … 2) Wentz plays 70% of Indy’s snaps AND the Colts make the playoffs.

**The Jets will send a fifth-round pick to the Eagles if Flacco plays more than 50% of the snaps in four games this season.

2023 NFL DRAFT

1 – Eagles’ own pick

2 – Eagles’ own pick

3 – Eagles’ own pick

4 – Eagles’ own pick

5 – Eagles’ own pick

7 – Eagles’ own pick