Ken Crawley

Extra Points: Eagles, McCown, Claiborne, Saints, Crawley

By Andrew Ortenberg | at September 27, 2020 8:05 pm

Josh McCown agreed to an unprecedented deal to become the Eagles’ emergency remote quarterback by signing to their practice squad earlier this month, and now we have more details on the arrangement. One of the reasons McCown was brought in was because of his strong relationship with Carson Wentz, and he’s been talking Wentz through his slow start, sources told Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.

Sources also told La Canfora that McCown is viewed by the Eagles and other organizations across the league as a future NFL head coach. McCown is essentially working as a part-time coach right now, as La Canfora writes he’s staying in shape but not training with the team at all. “Several” execs told La Canfora that he “could be an NFL head coach within five years of retiring from the game, perhaps sooner.” Those same execs said he could have a quarterback coach job right now if he wanted it, and would be fast-tracked to be a coordinator.

This isn’t all that surprising considering the Eagles discussed a coaching job with him as far back as January. The 41-year-old McCown was the backup to Wentz last year when he was suddenly inserted in relief in their first-round playoff game against Seattle and nearly led them to an improbable win. If Wentz keeps playing like he has been, they might need him to come in cold off the bench one more time.

Here’s more from around the league:

• Speaking of guys on the verge of retirement, that’s apparently a good way to describe free agent corner Morris Claiborne. While not officially retired Claiborne is “not actively looking for work and spending family time,” Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Fowler adds that while he’s “staying ready just in case,” it “would take the ideal circumstance” to get him off the couch. The sixth overall pick of the 2012 draft by the Cowboys, Claiborne won the Super Bowl with the Chiefs last year, appearing in eight games and starting one. He made 15 starts in each of the previous two seasons with the Jets. If this is really it for him, he’ll hang up his cleats having made 74 starts across eight years, but never quite living up to his draft status.
• The Saints are playing right now on Sunday Night Football, and they could be reuniting with a familiar face soon. New Orleans brought in cornerback Ken Crawley for a visit on Friday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The 2016 UDFA started his career with the Saints, and was with him until he was cut and claimed off waivers by the Dolphins in October of last year. He was with both the Raiders and Cardinals during training camp, and was ultimately cut by both. Still only 27, Crawley was a big part of the Saints’ defense for a while, starting 13 games in 2017 and five in 2018. He struggled pretty badly toward the end with the Saints, which is what led to his release.