Notes: Kelly On Sanchez’s Trade Value, Injury Updates

Towards the end of today’s session with the media, Chip Kelly was asked about the future of quarterback Mark Sanchez.

Sanchez has gone 18-for-22 for 196 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the first two preseason games. How would the Eagles weigh potentially trading him against keeping Sanchez on the roster as the backup?

“Good question, cause Mark has played well,” Kelly said. “But we haven’t had anybody call or ask us anything. So that’s not something we’re talking about because you’re just spending time on things that could happen, should happen… I don’t know.

“But I know we’re really happy about him. I feel very, very confident in our quarterback situation. Probably better than a lot of teams in this league going into it because I think we’ve got two guys right now that have actually played in games. Mark’s got 68 games under his resume and is playing at a really high level right now. Obviously Nick [Foles] coming off an outstanding season last year, so we feel really confident. But I’m also a big guy that you better have two quarterbacks in this league, so unless something blows you out of the water, we’re real confident with Mark starting a game for the Eagles.”

The team hasn’t received any calls yet and most likely won’t receive any, but what if a team dialed the Eagles up tomorrow and wanted to acquire Sanchez?

“What are you giving me? We’ll listen to anything for anybody,” Kelly said. “We’re not just gonna bury our head in the sand and say no, but there better be a pretty good deal in terms of what it is. But that’s not any of our thought process. I think we need him, in terms of how he’s playing right now, how he can function with what we’re doing. And I’ve always said you need two quarterbacks.”

EVALUATING SMITH’S PERFORMANCE

Kelly was asked today about what he saw from first-round pick Marcus Smith II against the Patriots.

“Marcus got a real extended look,” he said. “I think he played 70 snaps, both between special teams and defense. He’s got a burst, he’s got some speed coming off the edge. But if you’re gonna play that many plays, we’re gonna need more production out of you. So still working at it, still got a lot of things to improve on.”

INJURY UPDATES

* Josh Huff had X-rays taken on his shoulder, and the results were negative. His shoulder is in a sling, though, and he’ll be out at least for the remainder of the week.

* Cary Williams, who suffered a hamstring injury on his interception return vs. the Patriots, was back practicing today during the portion of the session open to the media.

* Riley Cooper was practicing fully today. Jeremy Maclin was still sidelined, but Kelly said he expects Maclin to be ready to go full tomorrow. Kelly added that if the Eagles were playing a game tonight, Maclin would be able to play.

* Others not participating today: Chris Polk, LeSean McCoy, Brad Smith, Jake Knott and Jaylen Watkins. McCoy’s absence was a bit of a surprise, but he had a baseball hat on and appeared to be fine. Kelly didn’t mention anything about an injury with him during his pre-practice press conference.