Philadelphia Eagles: Nate Sudfeld will have to win over the backup QB role

Nate Sudfeld might stick around, but the backup quarterback role will have to be earned this offseason.

With the loss of Nick Foles this year, the Philadelphia Eagles don’t have to worry about replacing their backup quarterback. Because the loss of Foles means they just move Nate Sudfeld into the No. 2 role, and just like that the QB room is set! Right? Wrong. As it turns out, the Eagles were very serious about keeping the backup quarterback role a competition.

Earlier in the week, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and head coach Doug Pederson met with the media at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. That’s when they revealed that the Eagles weren’t going slap the franchise tag on Nick Foles. With that news, everybody was then curious to find out what’s going to happen with Nate Sudfeld then since he is a Restricted Free Agent.

Apparently, the Eagles intend on keep Sudfeld around. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane,  the Eagles will most likely tender Sudfeld at some point within the next week or so. Although it would make sense that Sudfeld automatically finds himself in the backup role behind Carson Wentz, he’s going to have to compete for that spot with another veteran this year.

Not so fast, Nate

According to NJ Advanced Media’s Mike Kaye, the Eagles will have their eyes on some of the other top Free Agent backups during this offseason. While the top quarterback available is Nick Foles, it’s clear that the Eagles won’t be signing him since Foles is in search of a starting opportunity. That leaves the Eagles looking for somebody who’s going to know their role as the backup.

"“Nate’s done a great job,” Eagles coach Doug Pederson said. “He’s put himself in a position to compete for it. We don’t just go around handing out jobs. We want him to compete for a spot. We feel like he’s earned the opportunity to do that. I’m comfortable with him, what he’s done. He’s been with us now for a few years and he understands our system so it’s a matter of him just embracing that and moving forward.”"

Sudfeld had a solid preseason for the Eagles last year, but it was clear he wasn’t going to beat out Foles for that number two spot. However, just because he showed some promise last year doesn’t mean that Pederson is going to just hand him the second spot on the depth chart. The Eagles were obviously going to find another veteran, but it sounds like they will aim for somebody with more experience as a starter, rather than another Matt McGloin or Joe Callahan.