Prior to their 20-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football, the Philadelphia Eagles brought quarterback Ian Book in for a workout, according to NFL reporter Aaron Wilson.
Book, 25, was a fourth-round pick for the New Orleans Saints in 2021. He was waived by New Orleans in August of 2022, and he spent time with the Eagles after that.
Philly claimed him off waivers, signing him to be QB3 behind starter Jalen Hurts and erstwhile backup Gardner Minshew. Book spent the 2022 season with the Eagles on the practice squad before getting released before the start of the 2023 season.
After a brief stint with the New England Patriots in September of 2023, Book has remained a free agent.
QB Ian Book Has Appeared in 1 Regular Season NFL Game
Ian Book connected with Chris Olave for the TD earlier tonight 👀 #Saints pic.twitter.com/Q09s8l7CS7
— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) August 20, 2022
Book was a prolific passer in his four seasons with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He completed 63.8% of his passes with the Irish for 8,948 yards, 72 touchdowns and 20 interceptions (147.0 QB rating). He also added 1,517 yards and 17 TDs on the ground.
The young QB hasn’t gotten many opportunities in the NFL, however. He started one game for the Saints as a rookie, against the Miami Dolphins. He completed 12 of 20 passes for 135 yards and 2 interceptions in a 20-3 loss.
Book appeared in two preseason games for the Eagles prior to the 2023 regular season. He completed 63.2% of his passes for 91 yards, (4.8 yards per attempt), 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.
Eagles Coach Nick Sirianni Has Given Ian Book High Praise in the Past
The Eagles claimed former Saints QB Ian Book, the 2021 4th-round pick out of Notre Dame.
The Eagles claimed former Saints QB Ian Book, the 2021 4th-round pick out of Notre Dame.
Book’s college position coaches/OC, Tommy Rees, started his coaching career on staff with Nick Sirianni/Shane Steichen with Chargers.
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) August 31, 2022
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has had good things to say about Book in the past. Sirianni is good friends with Book’s college coach, Tommy Rees. Sirianni and Rees worked together during the 2016 season with the then-San Diego Chargers.
Rees, who is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Alabama Crimson Tide, worked with Book at Notre Dame while serving as offensive coordinator and QBs coach for the Irish.
“One thing Tommy always said about him, and now this is a guy that won a ton of football games for him and his program at Notre Dame, is how good of a leader he is. How there would be weeks or days that went by that the ball didn’t touch the ground because of how accurate he is,” Sirianni said about Book in 2022, via Sports Illustrated.
“We did a lot of work on him in the pre-draft process, obviously,” Sirianni added. “Naturally when you don’t get a guy sometimes that you might want, there’s a little bit of, like, ‘Oh, man, I kind of wanted him; oh, shoot, they took him,’ or whatever it is. But you do the work in preparation of a day when you have an opportunity to potentially get him.”
The Eagles currently have three quarterbacks on their active roster. Hurts, veteran Marcus Mariota, who serves as his backup, and rookie Tanner McKee, who is third-string QB. The Eagles chose to roll with McKee over Book after the rookie had a stronger preseason.
A spot on the roster won’t happen, but it’s entirely possible Philadelphia could add Book to its practice squad. Stay tuned.
