Kessler in protocol, latest QB injury for Eagles

Another game, another quarterback injury for Philadelphia Eagles.

One week after Nate Sudfeld suffered a broken left wrist, Cody Kessler was lost to a concussion early in the first quarter Thursday night against the host Jacksonville Jaguars.

Jacksonville defensive end Datone Jones came free off the edge on Kessler's blind side and put a big hit on the quarterback. Kessler attempted to continue to play, but the officials stopped the game to have Kessler examined. After a trip to the medical tent, the 26-year-old was brought inside TIAA Bank Field and later placed in concussion protocol.

Rookie Clayton Thorson replaced Kessler and finished 16-of-26 for 175 yards with one touchdown and an interception. Kessler was 1-of-4 for 11 yards.

The Eagles won 24-10.

"In my 14 years playing or while coaching, I don't know if I've ever been a part of where we lost two quarterbacks like this,'' coach Doug Pederson said about the injuries to Kessler and Sudfeld. "The beauty of it is that we get them both back and we've still got a couple weeks of preseason to work out some of the details."

Pederson said the team would evaluate Kessler's recovery over the weekend before deciding whether to sign another quarterback.

"We can get by with just two guys,'' Pederson said. "It does put a little more load on both of those guys, but ... we're not ruling [Kessler] out until we evaluate him.''

Kessler started in place of Sudfeld, who suffered a fracture on his non-throwing wrist in the preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans. Sudfeld is recovering from surgery and is expected to return at some point early in the regular season. Given that timeline, the Eagles declined to bring another quarterback into training camp this week.

Carson Wentz has yet to play this preseason. Pederson has been trying to create a gamelike atmosphere during practice and is giving the bulk of the snaps to the first team, preferring to have those players work in a more controlled environment as opposed to exposing them to injury in the preseason.

That might continue, given what has transpired over the past two weeks.

Backup quarterback has been a storyline in Philadelphia all offseason with the departure of former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles, who signed a four-year, $88 million contract with the Jaguars in March. Foles stepped in for the injured Wentz each of the past two seasons and helped lead a playoff charge. Wentz was lost for the year with torn anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments in 2017 and was shut down with a stress fracture in his back in December.

The Associated Press contributed to this report