Ex-NFL QB Ty Detmer says his brother Koy faked injury because Eagles asked

Before there was Peyton and Eli Manning, there was Ty and Koy Detmer. The Detmers were the finest pair of backup quarterback brothers in the late 90's and early 2000's. In 1997, they were both in camp with the Eagles. Philadelphia didn't want to carry four quarterbacks, but they also didn't want to cut Koy. The Eagles' solution was hold on to Koy by keeping him on injured reserve with a phony injury, according to Ty.

Ty explained how it went down on an internet radio show called "Cheap Shots." Here's the transcription, from Off The Record:

“[Koy] came up to me like a couple days before that day and was like ‘hey, they want me to go on injured reserve so they can keep me around, what do you think?' And I’m like, ‘well, if they’re going to keep you around, you know I wouldn’t not do it.’ So that day before practice he comes up and he’s like ‘okay, today’s the day they told me.’

“So, we’re kind of in team period at the end of practice and they’re like ‘alright, Koy, you’re in!’ And so, he kind of goes in, runs a play, runs another play and then he looks at me and gives me this wink as he’s stepping in to call the play. And so I’m like, trying not to laugh cause I’m like, how is this gonna go down, you know? It’s a running play. He hands off and and as he’s coming out after the hand off to carry out his bootleg fake, he goes down and rolls around and grabs his knee.

“And oh man, you know, the whole practice kinda stops like, ‘what happened?’ And guys were coming up to me and, ‘oh man is this the same knee he hurt at Colorado?’ And I’m like ‘yeah I think so I don’t know, maybe he just you know twisted a little or something.’ So they end up bringing the cart out and they cart him off the field.

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The show's host, Micah Warren, said he asked a few Philadelphia media members if they knew about the story and only one said that they had. Luther Broughton, the show's co-host, was Detmer's teammate with the Eagles. He said when he asked Ty if Koy was going to be alright, Ty spilled the beans. 

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Samer Kalaf at Deadspin dug up an old Philadelphia Daily News article, which alludes to the fact that Koy "spent [the 1997 season] on injured reserve when he mysteriously aggravated a two-year-old knee injury."

It's a good thing Koy played along, otherwise he might not have enjoyed a nine-year career as a backup quarterback and field goal holder. 

- Dan Gartland