EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Now we know what the Eagles will do in the case of an emergency at quarterback.

They'll point to wide receiver Jason Avant and send him in to play the position.

Avant was ready to go in the second half of Thursday's preseason finale against the Jets when Mike Kafka appeared ready to come out of the game after taking a vicious shot to the rib area. Vince Young had already left the game with a right hamstring injury and there was no way, no how that Michael Vick was going to play in a meaningless game.

Avant was next in line. He was on the sidelines minding his own business when head coach Andy Reid looked in his direction.

"He pointed at me and I was looking around, seeing who he wanted," said Avant, laughing. "It was me. I was ready to go in there and make it happen."

Avant ran to the bench and grabbed his receiver gloves and jumped around to loosen up. Like most of the Eagles' regulars in the preseason win that made the Eagles 3-1, Avant was not expecting to play a single down in the game.

The series of injuries threatened to change the plans.

"I wanted to get in there and call a 'go' route and throw it down the field," said Avant, who hasn't played quarterback since his teenage years. Avant is also the team's backup holder on field goals. "I know all the routes except the checkdown routes.

"I had my gloves and I was ready to get out and be like Tom Brady."

A new rule in the NFL allows teams to activate a 46th player this season and many teams will make that play a third quarterback. Whether or not the Eagles do that remains to be seen, but if they have only two active and they have a couple of injuries, we all know who will get the call.

"I was so excited that it maybe could happen, but fortunately Mike was OK and I didn't have to play," he said. "For a minute there, I was fired up to go, though. I know they would have blitzed me like crazy. I'm not sure I was ready for that."