Are the Eagles comfortable with Nate Sudfeld being a Carson Wentz injury away from the starting QB job?

When Nate Sudfeld re-signed with the Eagles on March 17, neither he nor the team had any idea that, within a matter of days, the country would shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.

They had no idea that NFL facilities would be shuttered indefinitely or that spring OTAs probably would be canceled or that it might be months before players and coaches are able to hold a workout.

Sudfeld had received some interest from a couple of other teams during the legal tampering period prior to the start of free agency, but decided that remaining with the Eagles, hopefully as the No. 2 quarterback behind Carson Wentz, was the smart career play right now. Boy, was he right.

“I just felt like the Philadelphia chapter of this book isn’t closed for me yet,’’ Sudfeld said recently. “I felt Philadelphia provided the best opportunity for me to keep growing in my career.’’

Just because the Eagles re-signed Sudfeld doesn’t mean they won’t eventually bring in a more experienced veteran to compete with him for the backup job.

But given the uncertainty of when football might start up again, having a backup quarterback who has spent three years in their system and knows the offense upside down and sideways, is comforting, regardless of his limited regular-season game action.

“Nate is a guy that has developed in our program and has a great awareness of what we’re trying to do offensively," general manager Howie Roseman said recently. “As we look at this offseason and the challenges that we may face this offseason, having a reliable player back there who knows what we’re doing, who knows our scheme, who knows our offensive players, is important to us.

“But we also think he has a talent level. That’s a 26-year-old guy that we think we can do a lot of things and has a lot of traits that we’re looking for in a quarterback."

Several NFL teams will have new starting quarterbacks this season that will have precious little time to get their arms around a new offensive system and even less time to develop a chemistry with their receivers and offensive linemen.

The Eagles, meanwhile, will be going to war with a starting quarterback – Wentz – who has 56 career starts on his resume, and a backup whose understanding of Doug Pederson’s offense goes well beyond the three career regular-season games he’s played in or his 25 career pass attempts.

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“I get it," Sudfeld said. “You sit on the bench for a couple of years and then get thrown into a game. If you respond well and have a good game, then forever it’s, ‘OK, he can play.’

“I’m just trying to stay ready and have a refreshed outlook so that whenever I get an opportunity down the road, I’m able to do it to the best of my ability."

Following Nick Foles’ free agent departure last offseason, the Eagles had penciled in Sudfeld as the their No. 2 quarterback heading into 2019. But he ended up breaking his left wrist in the team’s first preseason game.

With Sudfeld out for six weeks, the Eagles signed 40-year-old Josh McCown, who ended up holding on to the backup job even after Sudfeld’s wrist healed. Sudfeld was inactive for 11 of the Eagles’ 16 regular-season games. He dressed but didn’t play in the other five.

He was inactive for the Eagles’ playoff loss to Seattle. When Wentz suffered a concussion in the first quarter of the Eagles’ playoff loss to Seattle, McCown replaced him and completed 18 of 24 passes for 174 yards, but no touchdowns. McCown played much of that game with a torn hamstring.

“Last year obviously didn’t go the way I wanted it to go with the injury and everything," Sudfeld said. “But I’m really excited to get back. I really enjoy the environment here.

“I just feel like I’ve developed in this system for a while and am chomping at the bit to keep climbing on the journey."

Eagles coach Doug Pederson said at the scouting combine in late February that McCown is a guy “we’d love to have back if we could. He’s a great resource. He’s a great resource for Carson."

If the Eagles end up bringing back McCown or adding another veteran quarterback – Joe Flacco? Matt Moore? – to compete with Sudfeld, they probably won’t do so until after they have a better feel for a possible timeline for training camp and the season, assuming there ends up being one.

Given Wentz’s injury history, even if the Eagles like Sudfeld’s upside, they might prefer to have a been-there-done-that veteran insurance policy backing him up.

“The NFL obviously is a meritocracy," Sudfeld said. “It’s really [about] what have you done lately and what are you doing for me at each step. You have to keep proving yourself and you have to keep improving.

“I definitely have a ton of confidence if I’m ever in a situation where I’m competing with somebody. I’ve never been more confident in my abilities. I think I just have to get thrown out there in a game. Whether it’s the preseason or if I ever play in a regular-season game, I feel I’ll be able to perform well.

“The crazy thing about the quarterback position is you never really know about a guy until they’re thrown in there. And the only way to get experience is to play. So it’s hurry up and wait."

Sudfeld said he’s learned a great deal in his three years in the Eagles’ system.

“I’m a different player than I was coming out of college [Indiana]," he said. “Just my knowledge of the game and what I’ve learned from being around Doug and [passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach] Press [Taylor] the last couple of years."

Pederson has dramatically revamped his offensive coaching staff. He fired offensive coordinator Mike Groh and wide receivers coach Carson Walch.

He made Taylor the team’s passing game coordinator. He hired Kyle Shanahan disciple Rich Scangarello as a senior offensive assistant. He brought back Marty Mornhinweg to Philly as a senior offensive consultant. And he brought in a coach from the college ranks, Mississippi State passing game coordinator Andrew Breiner, as a passing game analyst.

The most significant of those hires could be Scangarello, whose main focus is expected to be Wentz and the team’s quarterbacks, even though Taylor still technically has the title of quarterbacks coach.

“I’m really excited about the addition of Rich," Sudfeld said. “Just studying him and knowing the [coaching] tree that he came from – working for Kyle Shanahan and knowing Sean McVay, who I got to work with in Washington my first year in the league – I just love those offenses and how they marry up the run game and the play-action and the boots and things like that.

“I’m really looking forward to getting to know Rich and talking schemes with him when things kick back up. It should bring a breath of fresh air to the offense. Obviously I know Doug’s offense really well. But I’m excited that Rich and the other guys will hopefully add some different perspectives to it and keep growing it."