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PHILADELPHIA — Two years ago, Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee was considered one of the NFL’s most talented backups.
McKee earned that reputation from playing well in preseason games and leading the Eagles to a win over the New York Giants in Week 18 of the 2024 season.
Those moments made some people believe that McKee had the upside to become a starting quarterback one day.
Last year, McKee became the top backup behind Jalen Hurts, and there was no reason to believe that would change this year. But to everyone’s surprise, the Eagles are making McKee compete for the backup job against 16-year veteran Andy Dalton.
Before Wednesday’s training camp practice at the Jefferson Health Training Complex, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni confirmed the two quarterbacks would compete for the backup role.
“We’ll continue to rotate with those guys with what we’re doing,” Sirianni said. “Andy has played a lot of football, and Andy has played a lot of good football. That doesn’t say anything about how we feel about Tanner. Tanner has been here for four years and has had some really good moments and played some really good games. So consistent at practice with what he does and the type of player he is.”
While Sirianni claims that making McKee compete for the job is not a knock on him, it’s clear the Eagles are not completely sold on him being the backup.
If the Eagles were fully confident in McKee, Dalton would not be in competition for the role.
If McKee doesn’t win the job, he could be traded or cut before the season starts. The Eagles would like to develop fifth-round rookie quarterback Cole Payton on the 53-man roster; to do that, they would have to release McKee or Dalton to make room — unless they keep four quarterbacks, which seems unlikely.
McKee has drawn trade interest from other teams over the last two years, but the Eagles have rejected those offers. An NFL team had offered the Eagles a Day 2 pick for McKee last offseason, a person with knowledge of McKee’s situation told NJ.com in March.
So, given how much the Eagles have valued McKee, it’s odd to see him splitting second-team reps with Dalton.
A sixth-round pick in 2023, McKee is entering the final year of his rookie deal. The Eagles traded for Dalton in March, and at that time, he was not expected to compete with McKee. Dalton was projected to be the third quarterback, and in that role, he would help Hurts and McKee adjust to a new offense.
“We know competition brings out the best in everybody,” Sirianni said. “To be able to have a guy like Andy and Tanner working together and working to push each other to get better, that’s only going to make our team better.”
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