PHILADELPHIA -- Mark Sanchez will be back with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015.

That part is clear. What it means is not clear at all.

Sanchez’s new contract is a two-year deal with a maximum value of $16 million, $5.5 million of which is guaranteed, a source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter on Sunday.

That is a lot of money if Sanchez was signed to back up Nick Foles, who is scheduled to make $1.5 million in the final year of his rookie contract.

It could be that Chip Kelly values the backup role, having had his backup quarterback start more than half the games he has coached in the NFL. Foles replaced Michael Vick in 2013 and started 10 games. Foles broke his collarbone in the eighth game he started in 2014, and Sanchez started the rest of the season.

But if Kelly had a plan to draft a young, franchise quarterback, he would need a veteran backup who could start and help develop the younger player. So for those looking for evidence that Kelly is maneuvering to draft Oregon’s Marcus Mariota, the Sanchez deal fits that scenario perfectly.

Sanchez, 28, signed a one-year contract with the Eagles last offseason after he was released by the New York Jets. In his nine games overall, he completed 198 of 309 passes for a franchise-record completion percentage of 64.1 percent. He also threw for 2,418 yards and 14 touchdowns, but he also threw 11 interceptions.

Sanchez was 4-4 as the starter.

Kelly could have several approaches in mind. He may plan to have Foles go into training camp as the starter with Sanchez as the No. 2 quarterback. In that scenario, Sanchez’s new deal is meant to reflect the value he brings as a backup quarterback and reward him if he winds up starting more games because of injuries. The Eagles made the deal with Sanchez in what figures to be a lean free-agent market for quarterbacks.

Kelly also may plan to let Foles and Sanchez compete for the starting job in training camp. Although Foles has a 14-4 record as a starter under Kelly, his performance in 2014 and his series of injuries may have convinced Kelly to let Sanchez have a shot at the No. 1 job. If that’s the plan, then Sanchez’s deal pays him as the backup and sometime starter with incentive clauses that would reward him if he wins the starting job.

The third possibility is that Kelly has decided to go all-in for Mariota (or another possible draft pick such as UCLA’s Brett Hundley or Baylor’s Bryce Petty) and wants Sanchez as his mentor. Back in 1999, when Andy Reid drafted Donovan McNabb with the second pick in the draft, the Eagles signed former Green Bay Packers backup Doug Pederson to a three-year, $4.7 million contract.

Reid wanted Pederson to start at quarterback until McNabb was ready. That gave Reid a quarterback who could run his new offense, making sure the rest of the players learned it the proper way. McNabb was the starter by the end of his rookie season. Pederson was eventually released.

Kelly has not spoken to the media since the day after the season ended, so his plans are not clear. Sanchez said after the season that he would like to return to the Eagles, but also that he hoped for an opportunity to be a starter. There is a chance he accomplished both goals with this deal.