Eagles bring back quarterback Nate Sudfeld on a 1-year contract

The Eagles entered NFL free-agency week with no backup quarterbacks under contract. Given Carson Wentz’s injury history, this seemed less than optimal. Sure enough Tuesday morning, the team announced a one-year deal with Nate Sudfeld to return for a fourth Eagles season.

Sudfeld, 26, went into last summer poised to battle for the prime backup spot behind Wentz, after two years as the No. 3 QB, but a broken left wrist in the first preseason game led to the team’s signing of 40-year-old Josh McCown to a one-year deal. McCown is a pending free agent — players can’t sign until Wednesday at 4 p.m., even though deals could be agreed to as of noon Monday — and he might not be healthy anytime soon, after tearing a hamstring in the Eagles’ playoff loss to Seattle.

Sudfeld’s return during the “legal tampering” period suggests two things: He wasn’t looking at a robust market for his services, having appeared in just three games here in three seasons. And some more exciting QB options are already off the market, including Case Keenum (Browns) and Marcus Mariota (Raiders).

Sudfeld knows the Eagles offense and is close to Wentz. He was a sixth-round Redskins draft choice in 2016, whom the Eagles obtained after 2017 cutdowns. He played last season on a one-year restricted free-agent tender, and did not appear in any games.

Bringing back Sudfeld on a low-risk deal does not preclude the Eagles from making other moves to strengthen their QB room.