The Eagles won Super Bowl LII with a backup quarterback, so you would have to think that this is a pretty important spot on the team's final 53-man roster. That backup just so happened to be Nick Foles, who had already proven himself to be a starter in this league during his first stint in Philly as the team's third-round pick in the 2012 draft. Foles played so well in that title game that he walked away with Super Bowl MVP honors.
In a perfect world, Nick would play out his NFL days as the backup to franchise quarterback Carson Wentz. These two proved to be the perfect tag team in that Super Bowl run with Foles picking up the slack when Wentz went down with a season-ending knee injury. The reality of the NFL dictates that, at best, Foles plays out the final year of his contract and moves on to his next team with hopes of resuming his NFL career as a starter.
There is also the chance that Howie Roseman receives an offer he cannot refuse in terms of trading Foles to another team for a high draft pick. This happened in Wentz's rookie year when the Eagles traded their starting quarterback Sam Bradford to Minnesota for a first round pick. Carson was elevated to the role of starter and the rest is history.
The bottom line when it comes to the Eagles' current situation at quarterback is the need to develop a player that can fill the role of backup on a long-term basis. If Foles stays in town for the entire 2018 season, this discussion can be delayed a bit. However, it cannot be delayed forever.
This brings up the notion that third-string quarterback Nate Sudfeld is capable of filling that role. He was drafted by the Birds in the sixth round of the 2012 draft out of Indiana. Under the guidance of Doug Pederson and Frank Reich in his rookie year, he must have made a good impression on the former career backup quarterbacks to land a spot on the roster. His first live action in a NFL regular season game came in Week 17 last year against Dallas. He completed 19 of his 23 passing attempts for 134 yards in the Eagles' meaningless 6-0 loss.
Heading into this preseason, Wentz is still on the mend from knee surgery and Foles has been hampered with neck spasms. This gives Sudfeld the perfect opportunity to prove that he can fill that role as backup. He took a step in the right direction with a decent performance in Thursday night's 31-14 loss to Pittsburgh in Philly's first preseason game.
Sudfeld threw a pair of scoring strikes, including a 63-yard touchdown pass to Shelton Gibson. He also connected with rookie tight end Dallas Goedert on a 15-yard score. In two quarters of play, he went 10-for-14 for 140 yards, but his night was blemished with a pair of interceptions to go along with the two touchdown throws.
The former Hoosier appears to have the skills to play at the next level and he is in the perfect system to hone those skills to possibly thrive in the NFL. Quarterback is the most coveted position in the NFL and there are more than a few teams in the league that would kill to have the Eagles' current depth.
As much as I would love to keep Foles as the perfect backup to Wentz, his true value to the team could be in the form of a trade. While I am not convinced that Sudfeld is the answer for filling his shoes, it is far more important that Pederson thinks he is.
No comments:
Post a Comment