Eagles' Backup QB Crosses Over: Here's What It Means

PHILADELPHIA - Eagles backup quarterback Tanner McKee crossed into the category of “deference player” for Saturday’s 22-13 preseason loss to the Cleveland Browns.

After two joint practices during the week where the ones and twos got almost all of the work, and an inspiring preseason-opening performance against Cincinnati, McKee made the jump, which was a shift in the way head coach Nick Sirianni has typically handled the preseason even with more entrenched veteran options like Gardner Minshew, Marcus Mariota, and Kenny Pickett.

Sirianni has been consistently cautious with QB1 Jalen Hurt but the perceived backup has always gotten some time in each preseason game until Saturday against Cleveland, where the baton was handed to Dorian Thompson-Robinson and rookie sixth-round pick Kyle McCord.

As usual with Sirianni, the decision was layered.

“He got a lot of good work in that joint practice,” Sirianni said of McKee after the game. “Sometimes [in the past] we only get one joint practice. This week, we were able to get two joint practices in there.

“It was really good work all week, and we felt like in that situation we saw a good chunk of Tanner there and that was his work for this week.”

From the outside, looking in, the performance against the Bengals trumped the number of practices because the Eagles have had two joint sessions in the past where the backup still played in the preseason game.

The idea that McKee knocked the practices out of the park seems specious because the Eagles struggled a bit in the passing game during the joint sessions.

Even though DTR and McCord didn’t perform well in muddied reps against the Browns on Saturday, Philadelphia considers itself deeper in the QB room than usual, which could have also played into the decision.

Thompson-Robinson has talent and some starting experience entering his third NFL season, and a visiting personnel executive confirmed to Eagles On SI that the Eagles are concerned with the idea of exposing McCord to waivers.

Aug 16, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kyle McCord (19) controls the ball against the Cleveland Browns in the second half at Lincoln Financial Field. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

It should be noted that Intel came before the struggles of both in the preseason game against the Browns.

The Eagles have consistently stressed the importance of the QB2 position, something that has been elevated further since 2017 when Nick Foles tagged in for injured MVP candidate Carson Wentz en route to a Super Bowl LII championship.

Meanwhile, Hurts has missed two regular-season games in three of his four seasons as the starter, meaning McKee might have to go win a game or two at some point.

Actions speak louder than words.

The fact that the Eagles traded Pickett to the Browns to clear room for McKee and have now put him in the same category as the array of stars that make the offense hum is confirmation that Philadelphia has never felt better about the QB2 position in the Sirianni era.

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