The Eagles have added another quarterback to their roster, signing veteran Cody Kessler, according to an NFL Network report
Kessler, 25-years old, has appeared in 17 games in three seasons in the NFL, going 2-10 with eight touchdowns and five interceptions. He has played with both the Cleveland Browns and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The move is an interesting one for two reasons.
One, the fact that Kessler agreed to sign with the Eagles is surprising. Although teams weren't likely beating down the door to sign Kessler, you have to imagine he has almost no shot of making the roster. The Eagles are set at quarterback with Carson Wentz at quarterback, Nate Sudfeld as the top backup and Clayton Thorson as their quarterback they want to develop. Kessler obviously won't be pushing Wentz for the starting job, and it is hard to imagine the Eagles would allow him to overtake Sudfeld either. With a fifth-round pick just spent on Thorson, the Eagles won't be cutting their rookie to give Kessler a spot unless they are 100% sure Thorton will make it through to the practice squad.
At best, Kessler seems to be here simply to take reps in practice and play meaningless snaps in preseason games.
Second, Kessler signing right before the Eagles are about to begin their on-the-field portion of OTAs, with team drills, is a little interesting. Earlier this week head coach Doug Pederso would not committ to Wentz being ready for the start of OTAs. If he isn't, the Eagles would have just Sudfeld, Thorson and Luis Perez on the roster, a trio that would make it hard to run any meaningful snaps for the backups. Kessler has an NFL experience, and presumably is more prepaired to run an NFL offense in practice than either Thorson or Perez. So the signing could be an indication that Wentz will indeed not be ready for the start of OTAs later this month.
Whether Wentz is ready for practice remains to be seen, but if he isn't, it will have been at least six months since he last played football with his teammates due to an injured back.
You can follow Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
