The Philadelphia Eagles could use some short-term help, but is signing another quarterback all that necessary?
There’s never a dull moment in a discussion regarding the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback situation. Ever since Carson Wentz went down with a torn ACL back in 2017, nothing has been the same for the franchise. Before Wentz’s knee concerns, everybody was happy with the state of the Eagles’ quarterback position.
Ever since Nick Foles picked up where Wentz left off and won it all for the Eagles though, everybody became obsessed with the backup quarterback position. The situation is understandable. After all, Wentz did go down with another injury last season, and once again Foles helped keep the team alive.
Many wanted Foles to remain as Wentz’s insurance, but too many factors made it impossible. So Foles hit the free agency market and inked a rich deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Eagles solely became Wentz’s while Nate Sudfeld inherited the backup position this year.
Many were curious to see how Sudfeld would fare in the first preseason game. Therefore, Eagles gave him half of a football get into a groove. Unfortunately, Sudfeld ended up leaving the field early as a cheap shot sent him landing on the ground awkwardly and hurting his wrist.
By halftime, Eagles fans and analysts were discussing potential replacements as we witnessed a rough outing from both, Cody Kessler and Clayton Thorson. Sudfeld would be diagnosed with a broken wrist, which required surgery on Friday.
Many believed a broken wrist would likely mean that Sudfeld’s season is a wrap — but that’s actually not the case. Here, the Eagles dodged a bullet. At the earliest, Sudfeld could return in six weeks. So his preseason is officially over — but he will likely only miss three weeks of the regular season. At that point, Sudfeld’s timetable makes searching for another backup not even worth it.
Should the Eagles stay put with what they have?
After undergoing surgery this morning for a broken bone above his left wrist, Eagles’ backup QB Nate Sudfeld is expected to return in six weeks, per source. Best-case scenario for Philly.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 9, 2019
Eagles third and fourth-string quarterbacks Cody Kessler and Clayton Thorson didn’t look promising on Thursday night. However, we’ve seen before that Kessler can manage an offense and win a couple of games. With Jacksonville last season, he started in four matchups, and his final record was 2-2. That’s not bad considering Jacksonville’s offense wasn’t nearly as good as Philly’s.
At this point, the Eagles would be buying a second-string quarterback for three weeks. And there’s no guarantee that any quarterback currently on the market could come in offer much more than what Kessler does, hence why those available quarterbacks are currently free agents.
Considering that Wentz is fully healthy with his knee concerns behind him, it doesn’t make much sense to go scrambling for a third-string quarterback, who could be a fourth-stringer by the time week four rolls around. A camp arm for the next three weeks makes sense — but spending anything more than a veteran’s minimum on a below-average quarterback is useless at this point.