Quarterback needy NFL teams had their chance. The size, arm talent, and upside was there at this time last year.
Stop it, already. The Philadelphia Eagles aren't trading quarterback Tanner McKee in 2025. He’s too good.
Philly’s backup quarterback put on a show during Thursday night’s preseason opener against the Cincinnati Bengals , who had their starters on the field in the first quarter. The only Eagles first-stringers out there on offense were No. 2 tight end Grant Calcaterra, No. 3 wide receiver Jahan Dotson, and assumed starting right guard Tyler Steen.
Oh look! Tyler Steen and Jahan Dotson are starting.
If only there was a person at Tuesday’s practice that reported this exact lineup. 😉 pic.twitter.com/AMNwGM5DdD— Anthony DiBona (@DiBonaNFL) August 7, 2025
That didn’t stop McKee from carving up Cincinnati. He led the Eagles on back-to-back scoring drives to open the game and finished 20-of-25 passing for 252 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 135.3 QB rating. Oh, and he did his best Jalen Hurts impression, converting a tush-push touchdown on fourth down for Philly’s first points of the game.
The performance wasn’t only reminiscent of the Eagles’ 2024 training camp and preseason, or the two regular season games McKee saw action in last year, in Weeks 17 and 18. No, this was better. Social media lit up with hypothetical trade predictions, the price tag on Philly’s former sixth-round QB out of Stanford now trending through the roof.
Howie Roseman is going to get the Saints to trade him three first-round picks for Tanner McKee.
— Anthony DiBona (@DiBonaNFL) August 8, 2025
Our apologies to old friend Kellen Moore, but the negotiating window is now closed. The Eagles would be crazy to trade McKee now, not with him looking like this, making barely $1 million per year and under contract through the 2026 season.
Philly might literally have the best top-to-bottom QB room in football, with the reigning Super Bowl MVP in Hurts and McKee, who not only looks the part of an NFL starting QB, but might actually be better than a handful of this year’s projected starters.
In all seriousness, Tanner McKee is better than whoever these 5 teams start at QB in 2025
“Big Blue” — Russell Wilson, Jaxson Dart, Jameis Winston
Maybe the Giants found a gem in No. 25 overall pick Jaxson Dart? Time will tell, but the G-Men would be a lot scarier this season with McKee throwing passes to Malik Nabers. Instead, a washed-up Wilson will start games for his fourth team in the last five seasons. McKee's first NFL start came in Week 18 last year, when he torched the Giants at The Linc for 269 yards and two touchdowns while Philly rested its key players for the playoffs. This one's not even close.
Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett or whoever the Browns decide to start Week 1
Has any team in NFL history employed more quarterbacks at the same time as Cleveland, which just added Tyler Huntley to the mix as well? Flacco’s 40, and everyone paying attention in Philly last year knows McKee outplayed Pickett—another easy one.
Spencer Rattler, Tyler Shough, Jake Heaner… (what’s going on here, Saints?)
Would the Eagles have traded McKee back to Kellen Moore for the 40th overall pick in this year’s draft? Who knows. Maybe the Saints called and Howie Roseman and company were already holding out for more (or they value McKee too much as QB2 on his current rookie contract). We might never know if the Saints even tried to trade for McKee during the draft, but we know this — that team would look a lot different right now if they had him in their QB room, given his experience working with Moore last year.
Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson in Indy
Danny Dimes is in an actual QB competition with Anthony Richardson, who left Thursday night’s preseason game vs. Baltimore with a nasty-looking injury to his throwing hand. This could end up being DJ’s job in Week 1 by default. Unfortunately for the Colts, Jones didn’t inspire much confidence in his debut, completing less than 50% of his passes on 21 attempts. Yikes.
Aaron Rodgers and the puzzling Pittsburgh Steelers
Will McKee one day be a Hall of Famer alongside Rodgers? It’s unlikely. McKee could be 27 years old by the time he cashes in with a second contract and actually gets a promotion to QB1 somewhere. But we know this: The Steelers went all-in on the 41-year-old Rodgers this offseason, finally signing him in June, about a month after trading star wide receiver George Pickens to Dallas. It’s tough to predict how Rodgers’ swan song season with Mike Tomlin and crew will go, but it likely won’t be pretty.
Not-so honorable mention
- The Vikings’ QB room as a whole is extremely shaky, but J.J. McCarthy was a top-10 pick and all he does is win. He hasn’t taken his first real NFL snap yet, so time will tell, but dropping McKee into coach Kevin O’Connell’s lap, with all those offensive weapons? That's tempting. Toss McCarthy into a giant bowl with Michael Penix Jr., Caleb Williams and Bo Nix. It’s far too soon to anoint any of those guys, but they all deserve to be the QB1 of their respective teams (for now).
- Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor with the Jets? That’s a tough one. McKee’s a pure pocket passer. Fields is a human highlight reel when he escapes the pocket and finds space to run. McKee's probably the better prospect at this point, but let’s split it down the middle and call it a toss-up.
- Bryce Young was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, same class as McKee. Are we ready to say the Stanford product who went 187 picks later is better? He might be, but it’s probably too soon to make that claim.
The bottom line: Howie strikes again. The Eagles took a sixth-round flier on a quarterback they liked and have developed him into a borderline NFL starter. They'll likely cash their chip in at some point, most likely for a high Day 2 draft pick. But for now they're standing pat. McKee is way too valuable to part with in 2025.
