Eagles backup QB situation gets scarier as Cody Kessler knocked out during first series

This is why Carson Wentz didn’t play on Thursday night.

The Philadelphia Eagles, who saw Nick Foles leave via free agency in the offseason, lost primary backup Nate Sudfeld in the preseason opener with a broken left wrist. He is expected to miss about six weeks.

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The Eagles sat Wentz, who has his own injury issues, and started Cody Kessler in Thursday night’s preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. And Kessler didn’t last a series before he was injured, too.

Cody Kessler hurt on the first series

On the first series of the game, Kessler completed one of his first three passes for 11 yards. On his fourth attempt, there was an obvious miscommunication in blocking assignments. Jaguars defensive end Datone Jones came through unblocked and crushed Kessler from behind.

Kessler was down for a few moments, then came off the field. The Eagles said he was being evaluated for a head injury.

In came rookie Clayton Thorson. Thorson had to come in, as he was the only healthy quarterback available to play. And he got hit hard on his first pass attempt.

Thorson remained in during Philadelphia’s second drive. In the second quarter he threw a long touchdown to Greg Ward, though it was an underthrown pass and Ward made a great adjustment and run after catch.

Eagles’ backup QB situation is thin

Seeing Kessler come off and Thorson come in as the last remaining available quarterback underscored that the Eagles have some concerns behind Wentz.

There are some concerns with Wentz too. He has suffered a significant injury each of the past four seasons, going back to college. Foles became a Philly legend filling in for him. But he’s gone. And what remains, even if Sudfeld is healthy, is a lot more uncertain. Wentz needs to stay healthy, especially early in the season.

Now the Eagles’ mission for the rest of the preseason becomes clear: No more quarterbacks going down to injury before the season starts.

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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab

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