Tanner McKee fell to No. 3 on the depth chart ahead of Week 1 this season, but he worked his way back to the No. 2 job in time to be the next man up when the Eagles made a surprising announcement on Thursday.
Jalen Hurts will not play against the Panthers in Week 6 because of a blood clot in his calf and it is unclear when he will be cleared to return to action. That positions the 2023 sixth-round pick to make his first start outside of a pair of throwaway Week 18 games after the Eagles had already clinched their postseason spot.
On Thursday, McKee said the backup mindset is to be ready at a moment's notice so it's a positive that he will get practice time with the first team heading into his chance to make a strong impression on the Eagles and the entire league this Sunday.
"Every opportunity that you get to play is a huge opportunity, especially being a sixth-round pick," McKee said. "Every opportunity is a huge opportunity. I'm obviously very excited and ready to make the most of it."
The Eagles have a lot of injury issues beyond the one that's knocked Hurts out of action, so it's not an ideal situation for a backup to come in and shine but it's the chance that McKee gets and we'll see what he can do with it on Sunday.