Formerly Highly Regarded Seahawks Quarterback Seals Giants Contract

Aformer Seattle Seahawks quarterback is landing with an NFC rival.

As reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday, November 7, former Seahawks quarterback Jacob Eason is signing with the New York Giants. The 25-year-old quarterback is signing with the team’s practice squad following the season-ending ACL injury suffered by Daniel Jones during the team’s Week 9 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.

“Another QB move: Giants are signing former Panthers/49ers/Seahawks/Colts QB Jacob Eason to their practice squad, per source,” writes Schefter.

Jacob Eason Spent 2021 Season as Seahawks’ Backup QB

Eason initially entered the NFL as a fourth-round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts back in 2020. After not appearing in a single game during his rookie season, Eason made his debut in Week 2 of the 2021 season, completing 2-of-5 passes for 25 yards and one interception.

Not long after, Eason was released during the middle of the 2021 season. It was at that point that the Seahawks claimed Eason off waivers to serve as a backup quarterback while then-starter Russell Wilson was dealing with a broken finger injury. Eason spent the rest of the 2021 season on the Seahawks’ roster before he was eventually released at the conclusion of the preseason in 2022.

The University of Washington alum then spent a portion of the 2022 season on the Carolina Panthers‘ roster, completing 3-of-5 passes for 59 yards and an interception in a Week 6 game. He was released shortly after during the middle of the 2022 season before latching on with the San Francisco 49ers‘ practice squad for the remainder of the season. Following his release from the Niners at the conclusion of the regular season, Eason spent several months with the Panthers during the 2023 offseason before being released again.

Jacob Eason Was Considered No. 1 QB in Class of 2016

While Eason has obviously been merely a journeyman backup quarterback over the course of his four seasons in the NFL, he was once a very highly touted prospect coming out of high school. In fact, Eason was a five-star recruit and ranked as the top quarterback prospect in the class of 2016 by Rivals.

As TJ Cotterill of The News Tribune wrote back in January of 2016, Eason was arguably the most highly-hyped quarterback recruit coming out of the Northwest.

“No high school quarterback in the Northwest ever received more recruiting attention than Eason,” wrote Cotterill. “The 6-foot-6 Eason reminds some of Drew Bledsoe, who like Chris Chandler, Mark Rypien, Jake Plummer, Kellen Clemens, Derek Anderson, Damon Huard and Brock Huard were all considered some of the top quarterback recruits in the nation in their times.”

The 6-foot-6 quarterback actually received numerous offers from big-time schools, including the likes of Florida, Miami, Alabama, Florida State, Michigan, Notre Dame and Oklahoma. He eventually committed to the University of Georgia.

After ending his freshman season in 2016 and entering the 2017 season as the starter, Eason suffered a knee injury in the season opener and lost his starting job to Jake Fromm. Eason never regained the job and transferred to the University of Washington. After sitting out the 2018 season due to transfer rules, he started the entire 2019 season, throwing 23 touchdowns against eight interceptions during his final collegiate campaign.

The Giants currently have Tommy DeVito slotted as the team’s starting quarterback with recent signee, Matt Barkley, as the backup quarterback.