Philadelphia Eagles: Matt Barkley’s time in Buffalo could help Jalen Hurts

When the Philadelphia Eagles drafted Matt Barkley, it felt significant.

Selected using the first overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft’s fourth round, Barkley was once considered a top-tier quarterback prospect before having his stock tumble due to an underwhelming senior season at USC.

While no one expected Barkley to immediately come in and beat out both Michael Vick and Nick Foles to become the Eagles’ new starting quarterback right out the gate, let alone outperform fellow draft classmates like EJ Manuel, Geno Smith, and Mike Glennon, Chip Kelly’s first-hand knowledge facing off with the PAC-12 performer left many with a shade of optimism.

Could Barkley, a player worthy of “a late first- or early second-round grade” according to Ryan Lownes of Bleacher Report, split the difference between Vick and Foles and become the face of Kelly’s post-Andy Reid Eagles?

Nope. Not even a little bit.

Barkley lasted two seasons in South Philly, appeared in four games with no starts, and was ultimately traded to Arizona for a 2016 seventh-round pick – used to select Oregon linebacker Joe Walker – and has since bounced around the league as a veteran backup.

Do you know the Eagles need a backup quarterback? Especially one with experience helping young quarterbacks through their process? Hmm…

Barkley’s second act with the Philadelphia Eagles could be far more impactful.

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Heading into the 2021 offseason, the Buffalo Bills have a relatively tricky decision to make at backup quarterback: Roll with 2020 fifth-round pick Jake Fromm as QB2, or re-sign Matt Barkley to give the former Georga product some competition behind Josh Allen.

Normally, this wouldn’t be a particularly hard decision for a team like the Bills in win-now mode. If they really believe Fromm is good enough to back up Allen, which Brandon Beane inferred in conversations with the media, why invest in a 30-year-old backup quarterback who ideally wouldn’t see the field at all and may not even be an upgrade over his 22-year-old foil?

But Barkley’s impact on the Bills during his three years with the organization goes a lot deeper than how well he holds a clipboard.

When asked about the Bills’ quarterbacks situation during a recent media availability, Beane gushed about how much of a “blessing” Barkley has been to the Bills both on and off the field during his tenure with the team, telling the assembled members (as per NFL Trade Rumors), “What a selfless guy. Some guys are the backup, and they’re itching to play,” Bean said. “Matt’s a competitor, he wants to play, but his first thing every day he walks in the door is to help Josh Allen be the best version of himself. And that’s why it’s been so great to have him.

Beane also praised Barkley’s wife for helping to connect the team’s spouses before giving his vote of confidence to the quarterback who notoriously asked to have his contract paid out in Bitcoin.

So, in summation, Barkley is a selfless locker room guy who is fine helping younger players better understand the game while collecting his non-Bitcoin cash. While he probably wouldn’t be particularly stiff competition for Hurts in camp, which the Eagles may or may not want depending on who you ask, surely having a guy who helped shepherd Allen’s development from his rough rookie season into a legit Pro Bowler two years later would be a nice addition heading into 2021, especially considering his pre-existing experience in midnight green, right?

Factor in occasional flashes of brilliance like his 41-10 Week 10 win over the New York Jets in 2018, and there’s a lot to like about bringing Barkley “home” on a short-term, low-money deal a la the last two contracts he’s signed in Buffalo and Cinncinatti.

See what I mean? Good stuff.

Now sure, Barkley isn’t a big-name backup quarterback. He isn’t Marcus Mariota, Alex Smith, Mitch Trubisky, or any of the other veteran free agent signal-callers with more impressive career win-loss records. If the Eagles really want to go crazy and kick Birds Twitter into an absolute meltdown, they could always trade for Nick Foles and kick off yet another wild QB controversy that put us in this very situation in the first place.

Barkley isn’t Foles, but he can fill a similar role in 2021 without the general hysteria that would surround a second reunion with everyone’s favorite Super Bowl MVP.

Could the Philadelphia Eagles luck out and find themselves the next Ryan Tannahill in free agency? Could they bring in a veteran signal-caller who, for one reason or another, fell through the cracks but finds new life in a quarterback competition with Jalen Hurts and/or as an injury replacement for the second-year second-rounder midseason? Is there a world where we’re entering the second decade with, say, Marcus Mariota as the face of the franchise? Most definitely, but realistically, that just isn’t the case. No, the 2021 season is going to live-or-die based on how Jalen Hurts and Nick Sirianni can co-exist in a veritable trial by fire, and if they fail, the Eagles will surely be picking a new QB high in the 2022 NFL Draft. Re-signing a Howie Roseman draftee like Matt Barkley only helps with that evaluation, even if he never actually sees the field.

Update: The Buffalo Bills have signed Mitch Trubisky in free agency to join their QB competition backup Josh Allen. Matt Barkley is now officially looking for a new home.