The Philadelphia Eagles have done a great job of adding quarterback depth over the last 2 seasons and putting enough talent in place that if starter Jalen Hurts goes down with an injury — which happened last year — things don’t go completely off the rails.
Headed into 2025, the Eagles have the problem of having one quarterback too many. There’s enough talent in place that a player who has been an NFL starter at one point might not have a job when all is said and done.
Eagles Wire’s Geoffrey A. Knox predicts the Eagles will eventually part ways with quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who started 5 games for the Cleveland Browns over the last 2 seasons and was obtained in a trade that sent last season’s backup quarterback, Kenny Pickett, to the Browns in exchange for DTR and a 2025 fifth round pick.
The Eagles have a pair of backup quarterbacks they’ve drafted in the last 3 seasons on the roster as well. This year’s presumed No. 2 quarterback is 2023 sixth round pick Tanner McKee. There’s also Kyle McCord, who was a sixth round pick in 2025.
“Nothing lasts forever in the NFL, but Pickett and Thompson-Robinson have to be telling themselves that one season would be nice,” Knox wrote on June 12. “The former is suffering from ‘Shedeur Sanders envy‘ … The latter seemingly lost his job to Kyle McCord before either played a snap. McCord hasn’t technically won the job yet, but then again, Philadelphia invested draft capital. That says a lot, and when the rookie stepped on the field (in minicamp) to take some reps as the third quarterback, he certainly made the most of his opportunity.”
DTR’s Experience Might Give Him Edge
The Eagles need to make sure their third quarterback is legit — in 2024 both Pickett and McKee made starts late in the season after Hurts missed almost all of the last 3 games with a concussion and Pickett missed time with a rib injury.
That’s where DTR might have the biggest advantage. If the defending Super Bowl champions come down the stretch and need a win to make the playoffs or clinch the No. 1 seed and neither Hurts or McKee is available, would they want to roll the dice on starting McCord?
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It’s also worth pointing out that while McKee did well in his one start — the regular season finale against the New York Giants — it came in a game that had zero impact on the playoffs and saw most of the Eagles starters on the sideline.
Another Scenario: McCord Leapfrogs to No. 2 QB
The Ringer’s Steven Ruiz theorized McCord might actually end up leapfrogging McKee to become Philadelphia’s No. 2 quarterback behind Hurts.
“I like the Kyle McCord pick,” Ruiz said on “The Ringer NFL Show” podcast on April 27. “Like I think that’s a good flyer to take on Day 3. It kind of fits with their decent rotation of quarterbacks they have now. Like even if Jalen Hurts gets hurt, I feel like they have two guys that they could go to … I think eventually McCord could be a guy that could step in and start a couple games in a row.”
