The Philadelphia Eagles were scrambling for quarterback depth after news broke of Jalen Hurts’ blood clot.
After Hurts was ruled out indefinitely — eventually landing on the injured reserve list — the Eagles were looking for someone to come in and help out.
The Eagles ended up signing Joe Milton off the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad as depth behind Tanner McKee and Cole Payton. But Milton wasn’t their first choice.
The Eagles initially wanted to re-sign Andy Dalton after cutting the 38-year-old veteran last week.
But Dalton “politely declined” to return to the Eagles, Pro Football Talk reported on Sunday night.
Dalton, who was cut by the Eagles on Oct. 9, will be signing with another team as soon as Monday, per PFT.
Honestly, it’s for the best that Dalton said no.
Dalton wasn’t good for the Eagles, who sent a seventh-round pick to the Panthers for the veteran back in March.
Dalton’s presence created an awkward QB competition between him and McKee in OTAs and training camp. Neither Dalton nor McKee played well, leading to the Eagles carrying four quarterbacks on the initial 53-man roster.
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Dalton was given the backup job to start the season. But the well-traveled vet didn’t do anything with his opportunity.
Dalton threw one pass with the Eagles, and it was a brutal interception in the end zone in the Week 3 loss to the Bears.
McKee served as the backup QB in Weeks 4 and 5 and started on Sunday vs. the Panthers. The 26-year-old didn’t play well, completing 26 of 45 passes for 216 yards and a touchdown.
But with McKee, there’s some intrigue about how the he’ll fare with Hurts out for at least the next few weeks.
And if the Eagles need a QB to replace McKee, either Payton, the fifth-round rookie from North Dakota State, or Milton, the cannon-armed 26-year-old, offers some level of upside.
Everyone knows what Dalton is as a quarterback at this stage in his career.
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