NEW ORLEANS — Few Philadelphia Eagles players were more popular at the Super Bowl’s opening night festivities this week than Tanner McKee.
The towering, 6-foot-6 third-string quarterback graciously spoke with a steady flow of reporters for more than an hour — and in more than one language.
Prior to his collegiate career at Stanford, McKee, a Latter-day Saint, served a full-time mission to Curitiba, Brazil.
Under the bright stadium lights of a crowded Superdome, international media members lined up to witness his missionary skills as he fielded interview questions and delivered elaborate answers in Portuguese.
While the foreign reporters were noticeably impressed by McKee’s mastery of the language, he appeared to be even happier than them about the chance to utilize his mission tongue on the biggest stage of his life thus far.
“It’s been a lot of fun to just reach out and be able to connect with different people using Portuguese,” McKee told the Deseret News. “I’ve met a lot of really awesome people, you know, lifelong friends just because I’ve been able to speak Portuguese and kind of know the (Brazilian) culture. It’s been a blessing for me for sure.”
A sixth-round draft pick by the Eagles in 2023, McKee has spent most of his time in the NFL backing up veteran QBs Jalen Hurts, Marcus Mariota and Kenny Pickett. He got his first taste of action this season by appearing in a pair of contests — starting one — and throwing for 323 yards and four touchdowns.
There aren’t many third string, long term project-type quarterbacks in the league that become fan favorites, but McKee’s late-season performance earned him lots of love from the Philly faithful.
Tanner McKee’s mission
The Eagles’ road to the Super Bowl this season actually began with a homecoming of sorts for McKee.
Back in September, the team opened its 2024-25 campaign in Brazil, facing the Green Bay Packers in Sao Paulo.
It was the NFL’s first-ever matchup on South American soil.
Though his mission area of Curitiba is a lengthy drive south of Sao Paulo, “just being back in the country was unbelievable,” McKee said. “This next offseason, I’m going to go with my wife and we’ll hit a few (tourist) spots and then we’ll go back to the actual mission where I served. It’ll be a lot of fun, we’re looking forward to it.”
Even when the Eagles aren’t in Brazil, McKee’s mission experiences have proven relevant to his football career.
Eagles teammates often ask him during meals to share stories from his service, and lessons he learned as a missionary apply to his quest as a quarterback.
“I feel like everything that you do in life kind of just prepares you for the future,” McKee said.
“When I told (college head coach David Shaw) I was going to go on a mission, he was just like, ‘As a missionary, you’re going to bring a bunch of different people from a bunch of different backgrounds and try to bring them together for one common purpose, and as a football team and as a quarterback, the leader of a football team, you have so many guys from different backgrounds and different cultures, and you’ve got to try to bring them together for one common purpose.’”
McKee continued, “I feel like that’s what’s really cool ... being able to relate to a bunch of different people and work together for one goal.”
A bond beyond football
In Philadelphia, McKee isn’t alone in his faith. He goes to the same ward as fellow returned missionary-turned Eagles receiver and return specialist Britain Covey, a Provo native and Utah alum who is currently on injured reserve.
“Tanner’s the best,” Covey told the Deseret News in July. “He’s so tall and big but he’s one of the nicest guys on the team. It’s really nice to have someone like that on the team, especially as a quarterback. You want someone that’s even-keeled, like Tanner, who’s a nice guy and a good leader. We have fun.
“... That’s what’s nice about the church, you have a built-in community from the moment you arrive somewhere,” Covey continued.
Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is a Latter-day Saint as well, though he and his family attend a different congregation than McKee and Covey.
Moore, who was an accomplished quarterback himself during his college days at Boise State, has garnered a considerable amount of interest as a head coaching candidate, with the New Orleans Saints appearing poised to hire him following the Super Bowl.
“I think he has a great relationship with his players, I think he’s very knowledgeable of the game,” McKee said of Moore. “The story I always tell of him is when I was getting ready to have my first start against the Giants. We always have like our (scripted) first 10 plays, and for whatever reason, play three, I just didn’t love it, whether it was the looks, you know, scheme, footwork, whatever it was.
“I was just like, ‘Hey, you know, I don’t love this play, maybe we could take it out of the first 10 or change or tweak it a little bit.’ And (Kellen)’s like, ‘Dude, I got your back, let’s do it.’ So we had a good conversation of why I didn’t necessarily love that play, we tweaked it and ended up getting like 40 yards out of it. So he definitely has that relationship with his players, and he’s very knowledgeable of the game,” McKee continued.
“This is a business trip”
McKee is believed to be the first returned missionary quarterback to reach the Super Bowl.
Amid all of the sights, sounds and excitement down in New Orleans, McKee is focused on the most important aspect of the experience: helping his team hoist the Lombardi Trophy Sunday night against the Chiefs.
“Playing football since I was 7, obviously, you always dream of going to the Super Bowl,” McKee said. “I’m super excited to be here and trying to take it all in. It’s kind of a balance of trying to take it all in and trying to love the experience, but it’s also a business trip. We’re here to win. Coach (Nick Sirianni) said we can come back later on in our lives and enjoy it, party, be a fan and everything like that, but we only get so many chances of being a player, so this is a business trip.”
