Malvern Prep graduate Ryan Nassib is headed for the Big Easy.

After spending the first four years of his career as an apprentice to Eli Manning with the New York Giants, the 27-year-old quarterback from West Chester has signed a contract with the New Orleans Saints.

Nassib will vie for a backup role behind future Hall of Famer Drew Brees, writes Mike Triplett for ESPN.com.

After starting out as Eli Manning’s understudy with the New York Giants, quarterback Ryan Nassib will now try to revive his NFL career as a developmental backup behind Drew Brees and Chase Daniel with the New Orleans Saints.

Former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Chase Daniel is currently listed as second-string on the Saints’ depth chart. Third-year pro Garrett Grayson, a product of Colorado State, is also on the roster.

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Most NFL teams only carry three quarterbacks after training-camp cuts are made.

“He’s someone we liked coming out of the draft,” New Orleans coach Sean Payton said of Nassib, a Syracuse graduate was selected in the fourth round. “We had a pretty strong opinion of him when he was in college. Thought he was a good decision-maker. He played for (former Saints offensive coordinator Doug Marrone), of course, at Syracuse.

“When he was in the games, you saw him move the ball, even in preseason tape when you watch him in New York. He knows where to go with it. He’s a guy that picks things up pretty quickly.”

Nassib has appeared in just five NFL games, having completed 9 of his 10 passes for 128 yards and touchdown.

The Giants let the 6-foot-2 quarterback walk as a free agent after he was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury last December.

“I learned so much, on the field, off the field, not only about general football knowledge, but how an NFL locker room runs, and how the season and the league is,” Nassib told the New Orleans Advocate of his time in New York.

Nassib’s younger brother Carl, a Penn State product, is a defensive end with the Cleveland Browns.

Click here to read more about Ryan Nassib signing with the New Orleans Saints on ESPN.com, and click here to check out previous VISTA Today coverage of the quarterback and his brother.