Eagles Almost Traded for Another QB Before Kenny Pickett Deal

The Philadelphia Eagles have been on the backup quarterback market after being priced out of Marcus Mariota. There have been plenty of rumors about various signal-callers since free agency began last week but the Eagles failed to sign any of the established backups on the market. Instead, to everyone's surprise, they traded for Kenny Pickett from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Taking a chance on a 25-year-old quarterback who was a former first-round pick and who already started in 24 games in his young career makes a ton of sense for the Eagles. Especially considering that all it took was swapping a third-round pick with a fourth-round selection.

What is perhaps more surprising is finding out who else the Birds considered bringing in. Prior to pulling the trigger on the Pickett deal, Philadelphia reportedly had discussions with the Chicago Bears on a Justin Fields deal, according to ESPN's Dan Graziano.

"The Eagles, from what I understand talking to sources around the league, were one of the teams that had talked to the Bears about Justin Fields, but obviously could not get to the point where they agreed on a price, so they traded for Pickett."

- Dan Graziano, ESPN

Fields' similar play style to Jalen Hurts would have certainly made him an intriguing fit in Philadelphia. Despite underwhelming in Chicago over the last few years, he still has a higher upside than Pickett. However, he was likely not available for the same price as Pickett.

The Eagles currently have the eighth-best odds in the NFL to win the Super Bowl next season. At +1600 on FanDuel Sportsbook, Philadelphia has more work to do to be taken more seriously as a contender next year. Head over to FanDuel to claim your sign-up bonus of $200 after your first winning wager, and back the Birds.

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