When the Eagles welcome the Panthers to Lincoln Financial Field in Week 6, they’ll be without a handful of their top players due to injury—most importantly, Jalen Hurts.
The team announced Thursday that Hurts will miss Sunday due to a superficial blood clot. Here’s a synopsis of the Eagles’ full statement: Hurts sought treatment on his calf from Philadelphia’s medical staff on Oct. 8 after being cleated against the Rams the Sunday before. He practiced in full on Friday and traveled to London with the team on Saturday before an ultrasound revealed the blood clot. After consultation between the team’s medical staff and doctors, Hurts was cleared to play against the Jaguars under the recommendation of a second ultrasound within 72 hours of the game. The follow-up test revealed movement in the clot, which has prompted the team to rule him out for Sunday as they “determine the appropriate course of treatment.”
While the Eagles put Hurts’s health and safety at the forefront, they’ll now turn to veteran Tanner McKee as their starting quarterback, with rookie Cole Payton serving as his backup.
Here’s what to know about each of them.
Tanner McKee: A three-year veteran waiting for his opportunity
After a three-year career at Stanford—where he started 21 games, went 6–15 and threw 28 touchdowns to 15 interceptions—the Eagles drafted McKeen in the sixth round (pick No. 188) of the 2023 NFL draft. The 26-year-old has spent the past three seasons in Philadelphia, bouncing between the Eagles’ No. 2 and No. 3 quarterback spot—most recently as the backup role after Andy Dalton was released last month.
Since being drafted in 2023, McKee has impressed during the preseason—which led to him being the subject of trade conversations this spring, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini—but his best regular-season performance came in Week 18 of the ’24 season. Starting against the Giants while Hurts (concussion) and then-backup Kenny Pickett (ribs) both dealt with injuries, McKee led the Eagles to a 20–13 victory over New York, helping Philadelphia finish with a 14–3 record. He completed 27-of-41 pass attempts (66%) for 269 yards and two touchdowns, didn’t turn the football over and posted a passer rating of 100.6. Over a month later, McKee was part of the Eagles’ Super Bowl–winning roster—though he was inactive for the game and designated as the club’s emergency third quarterback.
McKee is from Irvine, Calif., and attended Centennial High School in Corona. Before attending Stanford, he spent two years in Brazil on a mission as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an experience that helped him learn to speak fluent Portuguese.
Cole Payton: A left-handed rookie from an FCS breeding ground
Behind McKee on Sunday will be Payton, a North Dakota State University graduate with plenty of potential. An Omaha, Neb., native, Payton spent five seasons with the Bison from 2021 to ’25 and has two FCS national championships, though both came as Cam Miller’s backup.
Payton is a dual-threat—as shown by his 1,919 rushing yards and 31 scores on the ground, which came in bunches as a Wildcat package player throughout his collegiate career. He started at North Dakota State in 2025 as a redshirt senior, completing 72% of his passes for 2,719 yards, 16 touchdowns and only four interceptions. Payton also added 777 rushing yards, proving his rushing ability.
In May, Payton joined a running list of quarterback prospects drafted out of Fargo since 2016, including Carson Wentz, Easton Stick, Trey Lance and Miller. The Eagles selected Payton with their fifth-round pick (No. 178) in the 2026 NFL draft, and he made enough of an impression during the offseason program, training camp and preseason to convince Philadelphia to keep four quarterbacks on its initial 53-man roster. Payton made his game-day roster appearance in London last Sunday, and will now back up McKee while Hurts is out.
He’s also one of five lefty quarterbacks in the NFL, joining Tua Tagovailoa, Michael Penix Jr., Dillon Gabriel and Hunter Dekkers.
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