There are many positions battle with the Philadelphia Eagles, but the backup quarterback job appears to be going to Tanner McKee, unsurprisingly. But who will be the third string to Jalen Hurts?
That battle will be decided at training camp between two new players to the roster: Dorian Thompson-Robinson and rookie Kyle McCord. Thompson-Robinson was part of the Kenny Pickett trade with the Cleveland Browns, while McCord was the Eagles' sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
This might be a battle that goes right down to the wire, but McCord appears to be the frontrunner, according to Philly Voice Eagles reporter Jimmy Kempski. In his recent article, Kempski has McCord's stock up after offseason workouts.
"You can usually tell pretty quickly if a young quarterback just isn't going to make it. Examples of past players who got off to bad starts and then never recovered were Clayton Thorson and Carson Strong. McCord is not one of those guys. He made several impressive throws over the middle of the field throughout the spring, and seems to carry himself with some swagger and confidence. At a minimum, he is going to make the team."
McCord could be the guy over Thompson-Robinson
After an average 2023 season with the Ohio State Buckeyes, McCord transferred to Syracuse (the former university of Eagles legend Donovan McNabb) and exceled as he led the nation in passing yards (4,779) and passing yards per game (367.6). He finished tenth in the Heisman Trophy race and helped his chances of getting into the NFL.
Thompson-Robinson's NFL stats through two years are....less than desireable to put it as nicely as possible. He has completed 52.6% of his passes for one touchdown and 10 interceptions in 15 games. In five starts, he has won just one of those.
The writing has been on the wall that McCord was going to be the third string. A team doesn't typical draft a quarterback with the intent of cutting them at training camp unless they perform so poorly.
McCord has impressed at OTAs and minicamp and appears he can make all the throws. His past relationship with QB coach Scot Loeffler also helps his chances as they have a chemistry that started over a decade ago.
The Eagles are still hoping to see something good out of Thompson-Robinson as he has great mobility that could make him like Hurts in the offense, but his inefficacy as a passer is worrisome.
Training camp will feature a position battle at third string quarterback, but fans can pretty much predict that McCord is going to run with the job.
