After weeks of speculation, Howie Roseman finally closed the book on one of the most remarkable stories in Football history. Nick Foles will walk into free agency to decide his own destiny, while the Eagles turn their attention to building around the quarterback of the future. But as one door closes, another one opens…and that could make for a very interesting offseason.
As of right now, the Eagles have two quarterbacks on the roster. Carson Wentz, who has suffered season-ending injuries in both of his last two campaigns, and Nate Sudfeld, a
If there’s one team who truly understands the value of a reliable backup quarterback, it’s the franchise who despite losing their signal-caller in crucial points of the season, two years in a row, have been to the post-season on both occasions thanks to their trusty veteran arm. The question now becomes ‘how much do the Eagles believe in Sudfeld?’
Nate’s a guy that when he signed he had an opportunity to learn behind Carson and Nick and he’s made incredible progress as our scout team quarterback, as someone who has been the backup when Carson got hurt and we didn’t bring back someone else,” Roseman said. “But this is also a position we continue to invest in. We’ve got great quarterback teachers. It would be a disservice to our franchise if we didn’t continue to look at every quarterback option as well.”
The jump Sudfeld made between his first year with the team and his second was impressive. Exuding confidence in the preseason, Sudfeld helped Shelton Gibson finally flash his deep speed, slinging it deep and elevating the Eagles offense. Later this year, Sudfeld got his feet wet once more with week 17 play, scoring his first ever NFL touchdown on a short pass to Nelson Agholor, who took it 22 yards and into the endzone.
Pederson wanted a project quarterback from the moment he walked in the door. He spoke of it almost instantly. Sudfeld has developed into a quarterback the Eagles seem to be very fond of, but now comes the big question. Do they like him enough to put him in a scenario where the season could be on the line? Do they like him enough to trust that in a situation where Wentz, for whatever reason, can’t play in a big-time moment, that Sudeld can step up in a moments notice? If the answer is yes, this debate turns into re-signing Sudfeld to backup Carson Wentz and then potentially drafting/signing another project arm to keep that conveyor belt moving.
If there is any hesitation whatsoever, would it behoove the Eagles to maybe look at a name like Teddy Bridgewater or one of the older free agents available and then re-sign Sudfeld as a QB3 once more? The issue in that situation is Sudfeld may feel he can elevate to QB2 elsewhere and could want to test those free agency waters.
It’s an interesting discussion and you may wonder why I’m spending my time talking about backups and third-string quarterbacks. But the bottom line is this. The Eagles, more than any other team in the league, understand the value of the quarterback position and having an insurance policy behind their starter. They have to get this right…
Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
