Former Notre Dame QB Ian Book claimed off waivers by Philadelphia Eagles

Ian Book, the former Notre Dame quarterback drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, was claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia Eagles on Wednesday.

Book played four seasons as Notre Dame, leading the Irish to two appearances in the College Football Playoff under his watch. In 45 career games for the Irish, Book threw for 8948 yards, 72 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.

Taken 133rd overall by the Saints in 2021, Book saw a modicum of action as a rookie, a season where the Saints started four different quarterbacks — Book included. In that start, a 20-3 loss to the Miami Dolphins, Book went 12-for-20 for 135 yards and two picks.

With the Saints seemingly locked in with Jameis Winston at quarterback and Taysom Hill as the backup, Book got waived on Tuesday as the deadline for NFL teams to cut their rosters from 80 to 53 people came and went. Now, as of midday Wednesday, Book has a new home in Philadelphia for now, joining a quarterback room where he’ll potentially be duking it out with Gardner Minshew for backup time behind Jalen Hurts.

A former Notre Dame teammate backed Book after his tough start

Former Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah took to Twitter last December to defend his former teammate. The former Fighting Irish quarterback started for the Saints in their Monday Night Football game against Miami.

The rookie did not have a great performance, going 12-of-20 for 135 yards and two interceptions. New Orleans fell to the Dolphins by score of 20-3.

In his tweet, Owusu-Koramoah suggested it wasn’t all Book’s fault.

“I mean dang, block for my mans,” he wrote.

I mean dang, block for my mans… 😑

— J. Owusu-Koramoah (@j_owuu) December 28, 2021

Book certainly could have benefitted from some extra blocking. He was sacked a total eight times as the Saints allowed the Dolphins 14 total quarterback hits. Five different Miami players came away with at least one sack, with Emmanuel Ogbah leading the team with two.