Eagles Addition of Josh McCown Adds a Twist to the Backup Quarterback Situation

by Marc Narducci; Photo Marc Narducci | Aug 21, 2019

During the preseason, the Eagles have generated a lot of interest with their backup quarterback situation.

Eagles fans hope they don’t have to see the backup this year, but in the NFL, keeping a quarterback healthy can be challenging.

The Eagles know that first-hand. Carson Wentz suffered late-season injuries each of the past two years and was unable to compete in the postseason.

We all know what happened two years ago when Nick Foles took over for an injured Wentz and led the Eagles to their first Super Bowl title following the 2017 season. Last year after Wentz suffered a season-ending back injury, Foley led the Eagles to 16-15 playoff win in Chicago before the season ended with a 20-14 loss in New Orleans.

Foles signed as a free agent with Jacksonville and now that security blanket has been taken away from the Eagles.

So when projected backup Nate Sudfeld suffered a broken wrist in the first preseason game, there was plenty of angst.

The Eagles decided to keep things status quo, but after Cody Kessler, who moved into the No. 2 spot after Sudfeld was hurt, suffered a concussion last week against Jacksonville, the Eagles knew they had to make a move.

And rather than sign a stop-gap quarterback, they brought in veteran Josh McCown, and reportedly gave him a $2 million cap hit, according to Spotrac.com.

Sudfeld is on the books for $3 million this year.

That might seem like a lot of money to spend on a backup quarterbacks, but really it isn’t. Last year Foles had a cap hit of $13.6 million, according to spotrac.com.

Now the interesting question is who will be the Eagles No. 2 quarterback. Sudfeld is expected to miss at least a few regular season games.

McCown has played almost as many seasons (15) as Sudfeld has attempted passes (25).

Yet McCown, who turned 40 on July 4, is known as much for being a mentor to young quarterbacks. He is almost like a second quarterback coach.

He helped last year in the development of then-rookie Sam Darnold with the New York Jets. That is all well and good, but the Eagles need somebody who can come off the bench and wins games.

The staff will have to decide whether it would be McCown or Sudfeld.

Actually the Eagles hope that they don’t have to see either of the backups in the game. Yet, even if Wentz had never been injured, an NFL teams needs a capable backup because any quarterback is at risk of injury.

Eagles coach Doug Pederson was a career backup quarterback so he knows what goes in to the role and how important it is.

Whether McCown becomes the second or third string quarterback and relatively speaking, it’s good insurance because an NFL team can never have enough depth at the most important position.

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Author: Marc Narducci; Photo by Marc Narducci

Eagles Addition of Josh McCown Adds a Twist to the Backup Quarterback Situation

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