Andrew Luck shook the NFL to its core last night, announcing his retirement at age 29. The franchise QB had fallen out of love with the game and been through too much surgery wise to keep that passion alive. While not the point of this article, I think it is important to stress that mental health among football players is something that’s grossly overlooked and I sincerely hope this shocking news pushes a spotlight on mental wellbeing and toxic masculinity the NFL deals with.
Anyway, it’s assumed that Jacoby Brissett will take over where Luck Left off. Brissett is by far the best backup in the NFL and the chips have somehow landed in a perfect situation for the former Pats signal-caller, who finally gets a starting shot. But the real question is, do the Colts need a backup and will they turn to the Eagles to find one?
Behind Brissett on the roster is Chad Kelly and former Temple QB Phillip Walker. Two young, developmental quarterbacks who if Brissett were to go down, may extinguish any Super Bowl hopes. But do the Eagles have an answer to Frank Reich’s problem?
That’s the first part. Reich is very familiar with the Eagles due to his time spent as a Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator. His offense is similar and his relationship with at least two quarterbacks is strong. But are they trade candidates?
Carson Wentz
The short answer here is absolutely not. The Eagles made Wentz the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL this offseason and did so with good reason. As much as GM Chris Ballard, another young and forward-thinking negotiator, would love to throw everything he can to pry Wentz away it falls in the realm of a ‘Madden trade’. The Eagles love Wentz, Wentz loves the Eagles, and the Colts can’t be flirting with the idea of playing homewrecker this late into the offseason. The urgency is too high and a trade like this would take a sizable amount of time to even begin to pick up mild traction.
Verdict: Just play Franchise mode
Josh McCown
The Colts don’t need a franchise QB. Brissett is the perfect ‘bridge’ and if he plays well, there’s every chance they already have one. What they do need however is a veteran QB who can help Brissett through what’s bound to be a bumpy season. McCown fits the bill, but he’s kind of already filling that role in Philadelphia and came out of retirement to do so. It’s highly unlikely the Eagles flip the 40-year old just one week after they signed him.
Verdict: Nooope.
Nate Sudfeld
Now this one is interesting because of the familiarity Reich has with Sudfeld, but the question I pitch to you is this. If Brissett were to go down with injury with a playoff run on the line and 2 minutes left to go, down by 6, would you trust Sudfeld to lead a game-winning drive?
The answer is probably closer to a 50-50 split than you think. As far as Sudfeld has come in his development, he has minimal experience outside of preseason games and that is still something to be wary of.
Not only that, but he’s currently injured (great) and the Eagles placed a second-round tender on him, basically saying how much they’d be asking for in order to let the QB leave the building. For Ballard, it’s not worth the price to pay…yet.
Verdict: MMmyeanno.
Cody Kessler
See now THIS makes sense. Kessler hasn’t exactly balled out in preseason…if anything he’s been borderline awful but that’s not the point.
A former third-round pick of the Cleveland Browns, Kessler has played in 17 games in his three-year career, starting 12 (winning 2 games). Completing 64% of his passes, passing for 8 touchdowns and 5 picks, Kessler has become somewhat of a game manager, which is what maybe led him to Jacksonville last year.
He went 0-8 during his stint with the Browns, but after being traded to the Jags for a conditional seventh-round pick, found a new lease of life…kind of. When the Jags benched Blake Bortles toward the end of last season, it was Kessler who took over the starting role, going 2-2 and proving that he can be dropped into the deep end and perform adequately.
I’d probably ride with Kessler over Chad Kelly at this point (shock) and Kessler’s tenure in Philly is basically over with McCown, Sudfeld and Thorson around. A trade for a conditional pick?
Verdict: Go on then, why not?
Clayton Thorson
As much as I love the Clayton Thorson song, he’s currently in the same ballpark value as Chad Kelly…which would be pointless trading for if your name is Chris Ballard. But, Kelly doesn’t have his own song and that may sway the voting into a shocking trade. All joking aside, this isn’t happening.
Verdict: DA DA DA DA DA DUM CLAYTON THORSON
