The Eagles recently traded for quarterback Sam Howell, making Philly his fourth team in three full NFL seasons.

Meeting with reporters on Tuesday, Eagles G.M. Howie Roseman explained the decision to make the deal with Minnesota for the 2022 fifth-round pick of the Commanders.

“We know the player really well,” Roseman told reporters. “Spent a lot of time on him coming out. Ironically, I think the only college Thursday night game I’ve gone to in the last 10 years was Pitt-North Carolina, and we ended up getting both those quarterbacks, which is ironic, like I said.”

Not ironically, ironic isn’t the proper explanation for what happened. (Even a conspiracy theorist knows that.)

“We had done a lot of work on him coming out,” Roseman added. “Saw him firsthand as a starter with Washington. Obviously, he had tremendous success in those games, had a lot of appreciation for him as a player and his talent level and the person that he was spending time with him. So, a guy who’s always on our radar. Just felt like for our team right now, the hardest part for us is trying to balance the development of players, the development of young players who we like, and doing whatever we can to go out and defend our title and to put the best team forward here for Dallas and going forward.”

Roseman added that the Eagles would have made the trade for Howell, regardless of the current injury issues with Tanner McKee.

“We just thought it was an opportunity to improve in the short-term quarterback position, which is obviously a hugely important position,” Roseman said. “For us, having those three guys again as we start the season, the opportunity to have those guys with the experience that they have in that room, just we felt like it was in the best interest of the team for this season.”

The Eagles currently have three quarterbacks on the roster. McKee has a fractured thumb; his presence on the active roster suggests he’ll be ready to go, sooner than later.

Philly opens the season in nine days, with a visit from the Cowboys. The game will be televised by NBC and streamed on Peacock.