One Big Question Asked At Eagles Camp Appears Already Answered, Or Does It?

PHILADELPHIA – It’s a two-horse race to be the Eagles emergency quarterback, and right now it’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson charging hard on the rail to win the race. Honestly, it appears as if he has already won, leaving Kyle McCord in his wake.

Thompson-Robinson has looked better and better as camp goes on, and is getting the majority of third-team reps. McCord, as rookies tend to do, has seemingly gotten worse as training camp goes on.

“I feel like I’m settling in well – scheme, teammates, coaches, being around the building, getting to know the city, I feel like I’ve adjusted well,” said Thompson-Robinson following Day 11 of camp on Saturday.

“The Eagles are such a great organization, it’s a lot easier, instead of going the opposite way (to losing team). I feel like everyone has uplifted me, and helped me along, tried to get me up to speed as fast as possible.”

Thompson-Robinson played 15 snaps in the preseason opener against the Bengals and was 5-for-8, leading a short touchdown drive of 20 yards in five plays. McCord played 16 snaps and was 1-for-5 with an interception.

DTR was acquired in an offseason trade when the Eagles sent last year’s top backup, Kenny Pickett, to the Browns for Thompson-Robinson. That means the Eagles don’t have much invested in the former Browns QB.

Rookie quarterback Kyle McCord looks to throw in the Eagles' win over the Bengals in the preseason opener. | Dan Shrensky/Freelance

Not so with McCord. The Eagles invested a sixth-round draft pick in him this past April. General manager Howie Roseman doesn’t like to cut draft picks to try to get them to the practice squad.

He tried that last year with offensive lineman Dylan McMahon, who didn’t make it because the Los Angeles Rams snapped him up. It’s interesting because McMahon was the 190th player taken overall and McCord the 181st, both spots in the sixth round.

So, the one question making its rounds at camp among the Eagles beat writers is who gets cut, the sixth-round pick or the veteran of who has played in 15 NFL games with five starts?

It should come down to who is better, but McCord’s ceiling is, presumably, still high, while DTR may have already reached his. It might also come down to who the Eagles feel can be stashed on the practice squad at the end of the month without another team poaching him.

My feeling is that Thompson-Robinson would be snapped up, likely by Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. DTR and Kelly spent five years together at UCLA, and the quarterback has brought up Kelly in both his camp interviews so far.

As for McCord, would there be a team willing to add a rookie, who, it is increasingly clear, is very raw and needs time to develop, to its 53-man roster?

That answer, in my opinion, is no, and it should be McCord who goes to the practice squad. Of course, there are still a few weeks to go before that decision needs to be made, and a lot can change in that time.

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