For all the attention that has been given to the offensive struggles at training camp for the Philadelphia Eagles, it's nice to hear that one player on that side of the ball is doing well.
Several Eagles reporters praised backup quarterback Tanner McKee's day at training camp on Thursday with a couple of nice throws. ESPN Eagles beat reporter Tim McManus pointed out the two throws that stood out to him.
"Hurts' backup, Tanner McKee, made some nice throws Thursday, including back-to-back darts to Cameron Latu and Johnny Wilson over the middle."
Bleeding Green Nation Eagles reporter Brandon Lee Gowton also pointed out those throws with some more observations from McKee's passes.
"Tanner McKee made some good throws. He fit a ball to a tightly covered Cooper for a completion along the left sideline. He hit Cameron Latu up the seam for a big gain. He had a beautiful ball to Elijah Cooks that was dropped right in the bucket ... but not caught by the receiver as he went to the ground. That would’ve been Cooks’ fourth highlight grab in as many practices. Cooks was shaken up after the play."
Could this start attracting other NFL teams to call the Eagles on McKee?
McKee got to show Eagles fans a small glimpse into his potential after appearing in two games late in the season. After filling in for the injured Kenny Pickett against the Dallas Cowboys and winning his only start against the New York Giants, McKee finished with a 66.7% completion percentage for 323 yards and four touchdowns to zero interceptions.
His play sparked the Eagles to trade Pickett to the Cleveland Browns, giving McKee the keys to the backup job behind Jalen Hurts. All indications at training camp so far have been that McKee is living up to those expectations.
If McKee keeps up the great play, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman could be getting a lot more calls for him to be another team's backup or starter. His trade value is only going to continue to go up as NFL teams are desperate to find the next great franchise quarterback.
The Eagles would not be smart to trade McKee, as he is the only other solid quarterback on the roster with experience in the offense. Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Kyle McCord are nice, but they are not at the level that McKee is at right now.
Preseason could expose McKee even more to how great he can be. The Eagles will make sure to hold on to him for a long time, but there may come a time when Roseman will be unable to pass up a trade offer that is too good to refuse.
