Why was the owner of the Eagles wearing a Nate Sudfeld jersey? [UPDATE]

Carson Wentz’s first annual AO1 Foundation charity softball game was a major success. The Philadelphia Eagles franchise quarterback raised more than $850,000 for good cause.

But somehow Wentz wasn’t even the most popular quarterback at his own event. And neither was Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles. Instead, it was ... Nate Sudfeld?!

I find this fascinating.

Does it mean a whole lot? I don’t know, probably not, maybe, but it’s the billionaire owner of the team wearing the third string quarterback’s jersey.

Why?

Why doesn’t he have his own jersey?

Lurie rarely addresses the media, so we won’t really have a chance to hear from him for quite some time.

Maybe Sudfeld will have an explanation in the locker room after the Eagles’ next OTA practice on Wednesday.

My best guess is that Lurie just grabbed a spare jersey for his at-bat at the event. It appears there were two sets of jerseys for each player. As you can see below, Sudfeld was wearing a green jersey while Lurie had the silver version.

Philadelphia’s coaching staff has always been very effusive in their praise of Sudfeld. Former offensive coordinator Frank Reich said the 24-year-old passer was “turning heads” in practice last season. Former quarterback coach John DeFilippo, meanwhile, once said Sudfeld has the chance to be a “really, really good football player.” And Flip said it like 50 times in the span of a few sentences.

“Carson and Nick are excellent, but I’m telling you there is a reason why the Eagles held on to Nate, and that’s because he’s going to be a really, really good football player. Why do you think other teams wanted him? Against the Dallas [starters], Nate played fantastic. That kid is going to be a really, really good football player. He’s a really good football player right now. But I am telling you, that kid has a chance to be a really good football player.

All of this praise is very funny, in a way, because he hasn’t even played extensively in real games. He has 40 career snaps to his name. And yet the coaching staff loves him.

Off the field, it’s apparent Sudfeld is also very well-liked in the locker room. He doesn’t just hang with the quarterbacks all the time. He’s all over.

A team’s third-string quarterback is often one of the most forgettable and irrelevant players on the roster. It could be some washed up journeyman vet or long shot undrafted free agent.

But that’s clearly not the case in Philly. Sudfeld seems to have some real cachet. I mean, the freaking owner is wearing his jersey!

Whether that actually means anything or not, Sudfeld potentially does have some kind of future with this team. He figures to be Wentz’s eventual backup if/when Foles is gone after this season. Alternatively, he could be thrust in the No. 2 job as soon as this season if Foles is traded at some point.

...

UPDATE: It seems like Lurie wore Sudfeld’s jersey because he was the first Eagles player to complete the 5K in the Eagles Autism Challenge.

SECOND UPDATE: It turns out my initial guess was correct. According to the Eagles PR staff, Lurie just “grabbed one that was available and fit.” It’s still funny to me that it happened to be the jersey of the third string QB.