Eagles Have Interesting Options At Backup QB

Philadelphia values the backup QB position so much that they have a succession plan.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee (16) during warmups before Super Bowl LIX between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs at Caesars Superdome. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles will start six scheduled on-field OTA practices on May 27, and that will be the first step to Tanner McKee’s ascension to the backup quarterback spot after two seasons of interning under Jalen Hurts and more experienced caddies Marcus Mariota and Kenny Pickett.  

A sixth-round pick out of Stanford in 2023, McKee has elevated fans' interest with some solid preseason work and signs during late-season, mop-up duty in Philadelphia’s run to a Super Bowl LIX championship last season.

In his work during Weeks 17 and 18, McKee finished with four touchdown passes, throwing two in four passes while finishing up for Pickett in a 41-7 rout of Dallas, and following that up with a 20-13 win in his first NFL start against the New York Giants when the strong-armed, 6-foot-6 pocket-style passer went 27 of 41 for 269 yards and two more TDs.

That sample size was enough for GM Howie Roseman to turn over his backup situation again by sending Pickett to the QB-needy Cleveland Browns for a fifth-round pick and another backup candidate: Dorian Thompson-Robinson, the 140th overall pick in the 2023 draft and a player who the Eagles showed significant interest in during the pre-draft process, according to a team source.

Thompson-Robinson, a college star at UCLA, was selected by Cleveland 48 spots ahead of McKee and had five somewhat ugly starts during his first two pro seasons with the Browns.

Complicating things even further for new quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler, who jumped to the pro level after six seasons as the head coach of Bowling Green, was the addition of high-volume college star Kyle McCord in this year’s draft.

The 181st overall pick, McCord, a South Jersey native who played his high school ball at St. Joe’s Prep in Philly, shattered ACC records at Syracuse during his final college season after being the starter at national powerhouse Ohio State.

Eagles’ senior personnel executive Dave Caldwell, the former GM in Jacksonville, and Senior Qualitative Analyst Zach Drapkin spoke very highly of McCord during the team’s pre-Day 3 “passion meeting,” where each department member is given the opportunity to pound the table for a player.

Ultimately, you can see what Roseman has been doing with his backup QBs under Hurts. 

The No. 1 goal has to be to ensure competency in-season in case Hurts misses a game or two, something that happened three of his four years as the starter. Secondary to that is providing that insurance at a more cost-effective rate than Mariota provided as an aging backup in 2023 or even Pickett did last season as a 2022 first-round pick.  

The projection is that it's McKee’s turn at QB2, and that could last through the 2026 season, or he could be spun off.

Some have even speculated that Kellen Moore and Doug Nussmeier’s presence in New Orleans, coupled with Derek Carr’s sudden retirement, would kickstart a McKee deal earlier than expected.

Moore, the Eagles’ offensive coordinator last season, and Nussmeier, the team’s QBs coach, have an intimate knowledge of what McKee can do and presumably the Stanford product’s upside as a starter.

However, what Moore needs in NOLA right now is a veteran. He’s already invested a second-round pick in Louisville’s Tyler Shough, so he’s got the young arm with upside, while Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener sort of replicate what Philadelphia has done. 

If everything goes to plan for the Eagles, McKee is your backup for 2025 and McCord takes over from there.

However, there is a meritocracy element built in that will even provide DRT an opportunity if he takes to what Loeffler and new OC Kevin Patullo are teaching.

As always, for any team that has a star QB like Hurts, the hope is that any competition down roster is limited to training camp and the preseason.

MORE NFL: What A Difference A Year Makes For Eagles' LB Room