Eagles starter a mystery
Expect reveal 90 minutes before game
PHILADELPHIA — Eagles coach Doug Pederson says he probably won’t reveal whether Carson Wentz or Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles will start the season opener until 90 minutes before the game.
Wentz has been recovering from surgery last December to repair a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee. He is practicing, but hasn’t been medically cleared for contact.
Foles struggled in two preseason games and won’t play Thursday night against the New York Jets. The offense didn’t score any points on 14 drives with Foles under center in the preseason. However, he was missing nearly all starters at the skill positions.
Pederson indicated he would make a decision Friday, but doesn’t plan to disclose which quarterback will line up when Philadelphia hosts the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 6 until game day.
Broncos’ Kelly needs to perform
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Chad Kelly has a tenuous hold on the No. 2 quarterback job in Denver, and not because Paxton Lynch is making a push to regain the gig he lost to him this summer.
Kelly gets one more shot at showing he’s a worthy backup to starter Case Keenum when he starts the Broncos’ final preseason game Thursday night at Arizona.
Although he’s won over Broncos fans with a stellar summer, Kelly still has to convince general manager John Elway that it’s not necessary to scour the waiver wire for a more seasoned backup QB.
With Saturday’s cutdown deadline looming, Elway has some big decisions to make at quarterback:
Is Kelly, who spent his rookie season on IR last year, ready to step in if needed after getting precious few snaps with the starters?
And is it finally time to give up on the underachieving Lynch?
Elway moved up to grab Lynch with the 26th overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft. But the former Memphis QB was leapfrogged by Kelly this summer after failing to beat out another seventh-rounder, Trevor Siemian, for the starting job each of the last two summers.
Lynch is 1-3 in his NFL career and has regressed this summer. Last week at Washington, he was 3-of-7 for 39 yards against the Redskins’ third-stringers.
The Broncos solved one quarterback conundrum by signing Keenum in free agency, but they’re facing another as the preseason winds down.
“I would say right now Chad’s our 2 and he’s earned it. Right now, Paxton’s our 3,” coach Vance Joseph said Tuesday. “Obviously, we have a game to play on Thursday night. We’ll see after that how it shakes. But as we sit here now, Chad’s the 2 and Paxton’s the 3 and Case is the 1.”