Nick Foles offered Nate Sudfeld some encouragement.
"You're going to do great," the veteran said.
Foles wasn't referring to Sunday's regular-season finale against the Cowboys. It was in regard to the interview Sudfeld was about to hold on Friday afternoon with a group of reporters circling his locker stall at the NovaCare Complex.
Foles is set to start in the game, but if head coach Doug Pederson pulls him early to preserve him for the playoffs - the Eagles have already clinched home-field advantage - then Sudfeld will be ready to make his NFL debut.
"Being a backup quarterback is a great challenge because you have to be ready to go," Sudfeld said. "It doesn't matter how many reps you've gotten and who've you've gotten reps with, you're expected to play well and that's my expectation. Whenever I go in, I'll be ready to go.
"I honestly haven't heard anything about reps or anything. Every game I go in with the mindset that I'm ready to play at all times. I'm looking forward to the opportunity if it does come, but coaches haven't said anything."
The 6-6, 227-pound Sudfeld was a sixth-round pick of Washington in 2016 and spent the entire season on the active roster, but didn't play in a regular-season game. He was released by the Redskins at the end of this year's Training Camp and opted to sign with the Eagles' practice squad instead of return to D.C. When another team expressed interest in adding Sudfeld to its active roster, Sudfeld was promoted by the Eagles on November 1. He's served as the primary backup to Foles in the past two games.
"I've really wanted to stay here. I really value this organization and these coaches and this locker room and quarterback room," he said. "One of the wonderful things about being here since I got here is all of the coaches have asked me questions in the meeting room, 'Hey, call this play. What's your read here? Who are you reading on this play? What do you have here? What's the addendum on this play?' It really hasn't changed since I got here, once I started learning the offense, so I've treated this whole year as if I've been ready to go. It really has been the same mindset, it truly has been."
The all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns at Indiana, Sudfeld has completed 61 of 109 pass attempts (56 percent) for 598 yards with three touchdowns against no interceptions in six preseason games over the past two years. Sure, those games didn't count in the standings nor did they impact playoff seeding, but don't tell Sudfeld they weren't pressure-filled contests.
"Preseason games are high stakes every game. Practice is high stakes so you're trying to do your best every day," Sudfeld said.
