For the time being, Tanner McKee is tasked with steadying the Eagles’ ship. And the waters around Philadelphia are getting pretty rocky these days.
Jalen Hurts being diagnosed with a superficial blood clot is just the latest in a deepening injury problem, ruling the quarterback out for this week’s game against the Carolina Panthers. The timing couldn’t be worse with the Eagles having lost three straight, the past two in truly heartbreaking fashion.
McKee was named Hurts’ replacement on Sunday. Andy Dalton had been Hurts’ backup to open the season but was cut after an interception against the Bears in Week 3.
McKee has started two career games, both coming in meaningless Week 18 games. Last season, after the Eagles had clinched a playoff spot the week before, McKee completed 21-of-40 passes for 241 yards, one TD and one interception in the 24-17 loss to the Commanders.
The Eagles listed 24 players on this week’s injury report, not to mention the five offensive players on injured reserve. The offensive line also took recent hits with the sudden retirement of right tackle Lane Johnson and the trade of left guard Cam Jurgens.
Hurts’ injury could be week to week, so it appears that McKee could be the starting quarterback during a key stretch of their season. After the Panthers, the Eagles face each of their NFC East rivals leading into the Week 10 bye – Monday night against the Cowboys, at the Commanders and home against the division-leading Giants.
Can McKee offer the 2-3 Eagles any hope? And if not, how might they handle the back half of the season if things continue to go awry?
McKee’s challenges with a limited Eagles offense
The Eagles’ offense will look very different with McKee at QB. Where Hurts can use his mobility to make plays, that’s not McKee’s game at all. He’s a pocket passer through and through. His 13 career rushing attempts include multiple kneeldowns.
That also factors into his pocket mobility, which hasn’t been a strong suit. McKee took three sacks in his Week 18 start last season and two in his 2024 start against the Cowboys. It was a consistent knock against him in college.
That figures to be a concern given the shape of the Eagles’ offensive line. In addition to losing two starters, they’re currently monitoring the health of center Drew Kendall (knee), who returned to practice after missing Week 5. Tyler Steen was limited with a shoulder injury. Landon Dickerson remains on injured reserve, but his 21-day practice window opened this week.
On the good-news front, injury-wise, wide receiver DeVonta Smith practiced for the first time in a few weeks. But there was far more bad news. Running backs Saquon Barkley (hamstring) and Will Shipley (foot) didn't practice for a second straight day, and wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks was downgraded from limited on Wednesday to “did not practice” on Thursday with a hamstring injury.
With Tank Bigsby on IR, the running back room could be down to Dameon Pierce and Carson Steele. That puts the run game in a scary place if Barkley and Shipley can’t go, which would put McKee even more in the crosshairs. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has praised McKee ability to put the ball in the right place and knowing where to go with the ball. McKee’s one interception in 88 NFL pass attempts appears to back that assertion up. But Sirianni and offensive coordinator Sean Mannion are really going to have to come up with a clever script to mask their weaknesses and also try to play to McKee’s strengths with an offensive system that’s meant to marry the pass to the run game.
If there’s a potential bright side, it’s perhaps that McKee might actually have more-established chemistry with some of the Eagles’ offensive reserves who might be thrust into bigger roles. And if ever there’s a time for Mannion to put on her former QB2 hat and cook up a killer menu, then Sunday is the time.
This is a big challenge for McKee and the Eagles.
Could the Eagles quickly become sellers?
The Eagles are calling Hurts’ injury a week-to-week thing, and the fact that his blood clot is not a DVT (deep vein thrombosis) is a good thing. The alternative would have required blood thinners and almost certainly would have ended Hurts’ season. But there’s no guarantee he’ll be cleared to play next week, and the Eagles should prepare not to have him anytime soon.
The question after that is: What then?
The Eagles have been theoretical and practical buyers at the trade deadline in just about every year Sirianni has been coach. (The only year they didn’t make a regular-season trade prior to the deadline was in 2024, although they had made a preseason trade for Jahan Dotson that year.)
And the Eagles can’t just punt on the season now. The division is in wretched shape, with three of the four teams facing QB injury concerns and all four facing major questions currently. One of those four teams will win the East, however, and the Eagles – division winners three of the past four years and currently 1-0 in division games – arguably have as good a shot as any of them.
But if they lost to Carolina and dropped two or three more before the bye, they’d be staring at 2-7 or 3-6 at the bye. Even a 4-5 record might not mean much if Hurts’ outlook isn’t great. And yes, winning the division a third straight time would be something, but how much potential does this version of the Eagles really have?
Philadelphia’s bye starts Nov. 9. The trade deadline is the next day. It would not at all be a shock to see the Eagles become deadline sellers for the first time in many years.
The Jurgens trade was the first sale, and a curious one. Did that not tip GM Howie Roseman’s hand slightly? The Eagles can talk in whatever circles they want to about the trade, but the timing was beyond interesting.
They have several players who could be moved. Dickerson might be gone next offseason, so you’d have to think he’d be available if someone wanted him. Nolan Smith feels like a pricy third rusher. Moro Ojomo might be a goner in free agency, so you might as well field offers now. You could even make a case for dangling Barkley, if the price was right and the Eagles were far enough out of contention.
The Eagles have been stockpiling picks for the next two drafts, and it makes sense that Roseman would want to continue doing so. Hurts is also entering a critical stage of his career, with 2027 perhaps a critical season to determine his place with the franchise.
Right now, Hurts is shelved. Risking him unnecessarily feels foolhardy, irrespective of whether McKee struggles or thrives in his place. And with this season already headed in the wrong direction, it would make sense to consider tacking against the wind.