PHILADELPHIA — It was so festive, marked by great food and plenty of laughs. More than two dozen family members, including the 92-year-old matriarch, gathered for the grand occasion.

They could certainly handle the drama.   It was the day Mark Sanchez was drafted into the NFL, a day he will never forget.

"Seems like yesterday, huh?" Sanchez recalled during an interview with Sports on Monday after waves of reporters had dispersed from his stall in the Philadelphia Eagles locker room.

I was struck by a flashback from that draft day party in Southern California. Sanchez had put a New York Jets cap on his grandmother while his father, Nick, told me how he used to quiz Mark on homework as his son shot baskets

Now I'd watched again as the quarterback became the center of attention after practice.

Sanchez deftly handled one question after another about the possibility of reuniting with his former coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, as the St. Louis Rams deal with the torn knee ligament that has once again wiped out quarterback Sam Bradford's season.

Sanchez is a hot commodity again. Suddenly.

Kicked to the curb by the Jets in March, he has flourished anew this summer with a fresh start after joining the Eagles as a backup to Nick Foles. He has fallen in love with Chip Kelly's up-tempo offense and sparkled in the preseason.

That his name is mentioned as a viable option for St. Louis to pursue reflects not only how his stock has risen but also the ebb and flow that can exist for a quarterback in the mercurial world of the NFL.

Sanchez, 27, was so hot coming out of USC in 2009 that the Jets traded up 12 slots to select him fifth overall. He started as a rookie, then went to consecutive AFC title games in his first two seasons — when Schottenheimer, by the way, was his coordinator.

But Sanchez also experienced great lows, showered with intense criticism as the Jets' "problem" — hitting rock bottom with the so-called "butt fumble" before the writing-on-the-wall drafting of successor Geno Smith and the torn shoulder labrum suffered behind a backup line last preseason and wiping out his 2013 campaign.

Reminded of such events at both ends of the extreme as he sat at his stall in a near-empty locker room, Sanchez placed his hands at the side of his head to simulate looking through a tunnel.

"Just stay even," he told USA TODAY Sports. "As long as I'm healthy."

Sanchez isn't expected to play when his former team visits Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday night, with Eagles third-stringer Matt Barkley slated to start and play extensively.

Sanchez doesn't need to risk it anyway.

In three preseason games, albeit against defenses primarily consisting of backups, he has sizzled. Sanchez has completed 80.6% of his passes while posting a 112.5 passer rating (2 TDs, 1 INT).

"I knew that as soon as I got healthy, I know what my abilities are," Sanchez told reporters earlier Monday. "I'm the most confident guy, no matter what's happened to me. So I know I can play in this league. Won a ton of games. Been in a lot of tough situations and done really well and done really poorly. Won big games. Lost big games. I've just about seen it all.

"I knew a fresh start might be good. And it's proved to be that way so far, but I've still got a long way to go."

The Rams, with 13th-year veteran Shaun Hill stepping in for Bradford, should be in the market for Sanchez. There is probably no better backup quarterback in the league more suited to step in for the Rams, given that Sanchez knows Schottenheimer's system and had his best success with the coach.

"Those are just issues of the day, fun things for you guys to think about," Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said during a pre-practice press conference. "Mark was in the meeting today. Those aren't my decisions."

Shurmur, though, clearly understands the fuss.

"I think everybody should be interested in Mark," he said. "I think he's done a good job and played well for us, and he's won a lot of football games in the league.

"So we are very glad to have him. I think he's added a lot to this team as a football player and as a professional. And, you know, we're ... sure a lot of people should want him. But we have him, so that's the reality."

It's not that Sanchez, signed in March to a $2.25 million deal for 2014, wants to go anywhere at the moment. He sounds like a man who might be hard to convince that a trade to the Rams would be a good move. He seems content to play out the season behind Foles — or at least he won't tip his hand otherwise.

Of course, he's heard the speculation. He dismisses it as hearsay.

"Nobody who would make those decisions has said anything," he said, referring to Kelly and Eagles GM Howie Roseman. He also said that his agent, David Dunn, has not informed him of any trade talks.

"Listen, I don't even worry about it," he added. "I love being here. It's good to be back playing ball. Good to be healthy again. It's a fun atmosphere. I love this place."

Even so, Sanchez must know as well as anyone how quickly fortunes change in the NFL.

Since arriving in Philadelphia, he has contended that he hoped to resurrect his career and put something on videotape that would enable him to pursue a starting job. Well, now he has something on film that's impressive enough. Maybe the clock will accelerate for pursuing that starting job, driven by market conditions.

"I'm not going to deal with hypotheticals," Sanchez said. "I don't know anything about it, other than what they've been talking about on TV — and that's only because my family has been telling me. They just want to know if I'm going anywhere, and I doubt it."

Still, Sanchez should keep an open mind, knowing how quickly situations can change in the NFL.