The Philadelphia Eagles already have a deep quarterback room and there appears to be no room at the inn for another signal caller, but could they make room for Colin Kaepernick? Eagles head coach Doug Pederson addressed the possibility of bringing in Kaepernick on the "Angelo Cataldi and the Morning Show" on SportsRadio 94WIP Monday. He didn't rule out signing him.
"I think it's something that if a team or even us were in a situation, we would look at all possibilities and scenarios," Pederson said. "The one thing you have to keep in mind is he hasn't played in a couple years. That still doesn't mean he couldn't come in and be a backup and learn your system and do those things for you. It's not out of the realm of possibility that could happen."
The Eagles have Carson Wentz as the franchise quarterback and are committed to him on a long term deal. They also drafted Jalen Hurts in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft and have Nate Sudfeld on a one-year deal worth $2 million. They appear capped out on spending money for quarterbacks, which makes bringing in Kaepernick difficult.
Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman prided his organization after the selection of Hurts, calling the Eagles a "quarterback factory." One of the reasons it's difficult to count the Eagles out of anything regarding quarterbacks.
"For better or worse, we are quarterback developers," Roseman said in April. "We want to be a quarterback factory. We have the right people in place to do that. No team in the National Football League has benefitted more from developing quarterbacks than the Philadelphia Eagles. When we make these kinds of decisions, we always go to our principles and who we are and what we believe in and right or wrong, this is who we are."
If the Eagles did want a capable veteran backup, they could develop Kaepernick into one -- even if he hasn't played an NFL snap in four years. Kaepernick has completed 59.8% of his passes and has thrown for 12,271 yards, 72 touchdowns to 30 interceptions (88.9 rating) while rushing for 2,300 yards and 13 touchdowns in six seasons. He was 28-30 as a starting quarterback with the San Francisco 49ers.
The coronavirus pandemic has limited the development of Hurts with the lack of an offseason minicamp, voiding him the on-field reps he needs to be the No. 2 quarterback for the team in 2020. The Eagles may have other plans for Hurts in the offense anyway.
Sudfeld has been with the team since 2016, but the Eagles have demonstrated they don't have full confidence in him as the No. 2. Philadelphia signed 40-year-old Josh McCown last offseason when Sudfeld went down for a few weeks with a hand injury, only for Sudfeld to lose the No. 2 job upon his return. If the Eagles still lack faith in Sudfeld, they could have Kaepernick come in and compete with him for that job.
While it's unlikely Kaepernick is in Eagles training camp, don't rule out the possibility either.
