Getty Undrafted rookie WR Manasseh Bailey had 966 yards last year at Morgan State.
Jalen Hurts certainly made the most out of his reps with the first-team offense. The rookie hasn’t given up on winning the backup job.
With Carson Wentz missing from Eagles practice due to a lower-body injury, Hurts and Sudfeld shared turns leading the ones on Sunday. Sudfeld has been winning the quarterback competition, thanks largely to his experience in Doug Pederson’s system. However, the dual-threat signal-caller from Oklahoma arguably provided the highlight-reel play of training camp when he reached back and heaved a 99-yard bomb to undrafted rookie Manasseh Bailey. Hurts chucked it from his own end zone and hit Bailey in stride on the 4-yard line.
Was it a touchdown? Unclear. Some reporters seemed to think Bailey went down on the 1-yard line. Either way, the drool-worthy heave had people talking.
Jalen Hurts hits Manasseh Bailey from the back of the end zone & Michael Jacquet pulls him down at the 1.
Bailey came into camp with a bit of a chip on his shoulder after not getting drafted. He racked up 996 receiving yards at Morgan State in 2019 while ranking third in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in touchdown catches (10) and fourth in receptions (54). He ran an unofficial 4.39 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Unfortunately, Bailey grew up cheering for the New York Giants.
“I’m all for the Eagles. It feels kind of weird,” Baily told the Baltimore Sun in May. “You’re growing up, and you always wanted to play for that team. But now there’s the business aspect of it, and you’re just going to take what you can get.”
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Hurts Listed Behind Sudfeld on Depth Chart
Pederson told reporters last week that Sudfeld was indeed his “No. 2” on the depth chart, calling out a lack of a real “game-like situations” for both players. On Sunday, the Eagles held a “live scrimmage” and Hurts made the most of his opportunities, including that estimated 99-yard bomb. Of course, Hurts also threw the ill-fated interception to Will Parks that led to Jalen Reagor’s injury.
Meanwhile, Sudfeld was reportedly fantastic in his own right. According to NJ Advance Media’s Mike Kaye, Sudfeld tossed a 72-yard touchdown pass to John Hightower on a perfectly-placed ball, one that went 50 yards down the field to the streaking rookie from Boise State. He also hit Zach Ertz for a nice score in the end zone. It’s going to be very interesting to see if Pederson sticks to his guns on Sudfeld being the No. 2 guy.
“Nate is our No. 2, and obviously Jalen is still learning. Jalen, he’s done some really good things for us,” Pederson told reporters on Aug. 20. “Again, like I mentioned, he’s learning our system, and he’s another one, one of our young players that’s learning the game a little bit. He’s got some athleticism.”
It’s backup QB day at The Linc. Wentz a spectator. #Eagles
“We’ve seen that in practice,” the head coach continued. “But Nate has done a nice job for us, and Nate has come in and really done everything we’ve asked him to do from a backup position and really just moved the team and moved — when he’s in there, executing the offense, and that’s where he’s at.”
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