5 quarterbacks the Eagles could consider signing with Nate Sudfeld injured

The Philadelphia Eagles have a backup quarterback situation to figure out now that Nate Sudfeld is going to miss some time as he recovers from surgery on his broken non-throwing wrist.

Doug Pederson was insistent on emphasizing that Sudfeld’s season isn’t over and that he’ll be back at some point. It’s not exactly clear when Sudfeld will return, however. There’s some speculation it could be a six-to-eight week injury, which means Sudfeld would miss the rest of the preseason in addition to regular season games.

Pederson said the Eagles plan to move forward with Cody Kessler and Clayton Thorson as the backup options to Carson Wentz ... “for now.” Those two guys could be in line to get a lot of playing time over the next few weeks considering that we might not see much — if any — of Wentz in the preseason.

Maybe Kessler and/or Thorson will step up after both looking bad on Thursday night. That seems pretty hard to count on, though.

The Eagles should really consider adding another veteran to the mix. A new guy could help eat up preseason reps and challenge for a temporary spot as Wentz’s backup until Sudfeld is ready to return.

Here are five options worth considering. They’re obviously not incredibly exciting names given that the free agent market is typically barren in August, especially at quarterback.

SAM BRADFORD

Haha, really?

Yes, really! Good ol’ Sammy Sleeves is still out there just waiting to be signed.

The obvious appeal with Bradford is that he has familiarity with the Eagles’ scheme. He was poised to be the team’s Week 1 starter in the first year of the Pederson era prior to getting traded to the Vikings. The former No. 1 overall pick has plenty of experience with 83 career starts to his name.

Bradford doesn’t seem eager to accept a backup role; he never has been. But one could argue his best path to playing time is signing with a team that has a starter with an injury history, such as Wentz.

I don’t think Bradford will be interested in signing with the Eagles knowing that Sudfeld will return at some point. I also don’t think the Eagles will have interest in paying what Bradford demands for a short-term situation.

A long-term situation could be different. Signing Bradford could make more sense if Sudfeld was done for the season and/or Wentz suffered a significant injury. For now, though, the Eagles will pass (short of the sticks) on signing Bradford.

COLIN KAEPERNICK

It just doesn’t feel like an NFL team is actually going to sign Kap at this point.

I think the former 49ers starter is in the same boat as Bradford for the Eagles. He’d make more sense if the Eagles needed a long-term option for the 2019 season but they wouldn’t be bringing him in as a short-term solution.

It couldn’t hurt to bring Kap in for a workout to gauge where he’s at, though.

JOSH JOHNSON

This is the most realistic option that makes sense for the Eagles. Johnson seems like he’d be willing to accept the role the Eagles need right now as a guy who could help fill preseason reps and compete with Kessler and Thorson. Johnson could reasonably be a backup to Wentz early in the season until Sudfeld is ready to return.

Johnson is hardly an overly inspiring option when you look at his career stats: 1-7 as a starter, 55.2 completion percentage, 6.1 yards per attempt, eight touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 61.7 passer rating.

I’ve always kind of liked Johnson relative to what he is, though. He offers the added bonus of mobility with 5.9 yards per rush attempt. And I thought he looked decent with Washington last year for what you could reasonably expect out of him only signing with the team in early December and playing with a terrible supporting cast. Johnson is definitely better than what Thorson offers right now and he might even be able to beat out Kessler.

BROCK OSWEILER

Brock Lobster!

Not unlike Johnson, Osweiler seems like a realistic signing who’d be willing to accept the role the Eagles are looking to fill. Osweiler is basically a rich man’s Thorson right now as a big quarterback who is bad but actually has some NFL experience and at least a modicum of success. Osweiler is 15-15 in 30 career games as a starter and he’s completed 59.8% of his attempts for 6.4 yards per attempt, 37 touchdowns, 31 interceptions, and a 78.0 passer rating.

MATT CASSEL

I thought Cassel would’ve retired by now but as of early June the 37-year-old said he still wants to keep playing. Cassel’s another guy in the Johnson/Osweiler mold; he’s terrible but at least he has some NFL experience.

VERDICT

I don’t think it’s wise for the Eagles to move forward with just Kessler and Thorson behind Wentz. Kessler stunk on Thursday night and Thorson doesn’t look like he’s anywhere NEAR ready to play in the regular season this year. If I’m running the Eagles, I’m looking to sign Johnson to compete for the role as Wentz’s No. 2 until Sudfeld is healthy.

What say you?