Eagles are finally adopting a QB strategy developed over the years
If you're like most, you're probably indoors or enjoying some shade, and you can't help but think about some Philadelphia Eagles football. Week 1 brings a date with the hated Dallas Cowboys. Long before we arrive, we'll have seen three preseason games.
Four quarterbacks are on the roster. The depth chart will need to be trimmed to three before that game vs. Dallas. Too bad for Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The writing has been on the wall since the NFL Draft. His training camp and preseason are about his audition for another professional franchise.
Say what you will about Jalen Hurts, and believe us. Everyone has joined the conversation. Ask several teams, however, and they'll tell you they'd take him in a heartbeat.
This is Philadelphia, though, and we're discussing the fans and the media. The reigning Super Bowl MVP is constantly under fire.
No worries. Hurts will do what he has always done: prove the doubters wrong. In 2025, he'll take his cues from a new offensive coordinator (Kevin Patullo) and QB coach (Scot Loeffler). The guys joining him in the meeting room are uber talented.
The Eagles seem content with employing the strategy everyone hoped they would
For the past few offseasons, the Eagles have employed the same offseason strategy: find a backup quarterback in the free-agency pool. They rolled the dice on Joe Flacco and Gardner Minshew in 2021. They stuck with Minshew in 2022. During the 2023 and 2024 offseasons, they ran with Marcus Mariota and Kenny Pickett, respectively.
Those past two names are interesting for a similar reason. In both instances, Philadelphia had Tanner McKee on the roster. No one will confuse him with Jalen Hurts, nor will they mistake him for Mariota and/or Pickett. Truth be told, he isn't as mobile as either of the players.
McKee is as surgical as they come, though, with his right arm. The day he stepped on the same preseason surface as Mariota and Pickett, he looked better than both of them.
Philadelphia gave up on its two most recent quarterback backups in as many offseasons. So far, they have yet to add another. That signals that McKee is slotted in as the backup. That is precisely the news fans and the media have awaited. Third-string duties could be handled by recently drafted Kyle McCord.
Hurts is, again, the reigning Super Bowl MVP. McKee enters his third year with the franchise and has proven his mettle. Someone of McCord's pedigree gives Philadelphia the best QB room in the NFC East, if not the entire conference. That's good news as the Eagles enter training camp.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Texans safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson did not tear ACL in right knee, as originally feared
Houston Texans safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson was feared to have torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. However, subsequent reports followed up to say that Gardner-Johnson did not tear his ACL and will undergo further tests to determine the severity of the injury. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] According to KPRC2's Aaron Wilson, Gardner-Johnson was defending wide receiver John Metchie III during a scrimmage in West Virginia when the injury occurred. As he went to make a tackle, he went to the ground and clutched his leg. Texans players took a knee near Gardner-Johnson as silence took over the field. The NFL's interceptions leader in 2022 was unable to put weight on his leg as he was helped onto a cart to be taken to be evaluated. "It's heartbreaking when you see a guy go down on a field like that and doesn't get up quickly" Texans head coach Demeco Ryans said afterward. "I'm always nervous as a head coach anytime I see anybody hit the ground, it's tough to watch." Gardner-Johnson, 27, spent last season with the Philadelphia Eagles where he helped them win Super Bowl LIX. He had 59 tackles and six interceptions in 2024 and has picked off 13 passes over the past three seasons. After one season back with the Eagles, Gardner-Johnson was dealt in March to Houston in a trade that sent guard Kenyon Green to Philadelphia. The Texans had plans for him to replace Eric Murray in their secondary after Murray signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Gardner-Johnson began his NFL career with three seasons with the New Orleans Saints. He joined the Eagles 2022 before moving on to the Detroit Lions in 2023. After only three games with the Lions, he suffered a torn pectoral and missed the rest of the season. That offseason, he signed a three-year deal to return to Philadelphia.
USA Today
18 minutes ago
- USA Today
Texans' C.J. Gardner-Johnson reportedly avoided torn ACL, team undergoing more tests
While there's no timetable for a return, the Houston Texans might have gotten the best new possible surrounding defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson's injury. Accoridng to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Gardner-Johnson did not tear his ACL Thursday morning and that he's still undergoing tests to determine the extent of the injury. The Texans are still undergoing test to see the severity of the injury, so the proximity of a return date remains a mystery. During a scrimmage at The Greenbrier in West Virginia, Gardner-Johnson went to tackle wide receiver John Metchie III. After making contact, Gardner-Johnson fell to the ground, writhing in pain and unable to put any pressure on his right leg. Practice fell silent as the medical staff examined Garnder-Johnson before helping him into the cart where he was taken back for an MRI. Gardner-Johnson, 27, was unable to put any weight on the right leg. "It's heartbreaking when you see a guy go down on the field like that and doesn't get up quicker," Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said after practice. "I'm always nervous as a head coach anytime I see anybody hit the ground. It's tough to watch. So we'll see, we'll evaluate C.J. and see where he is, but no update at this time." Acquired in a deal from the defending Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles this offseason in exchange for Kenyon Green and a 2026 fifth-round pick, Gardner-Johnson was supposed to replace their 2024 starting safety Eric Murray, who joined the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason. Last year as a focal point on the Eagles' secondary, he totaled 59 combined tackles, 12 passes defended and six interceptions en route to securing a second Lombardi Trophy in the last 10 seasons. Even if he does suit up again, the loss of Gardner-Johnson could be detrimental to an elite secondary that was looking for a long-term upgrade at safety to pair with All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., cornerback Kamari Lassiter, safety Calen Bullock and nickel Jalen Pitre. Last season, the Texans posted the second-most interceptions in the NFL with 19, so adding Gardner-Johnson's 18 career interceptions was supposed to fit well. 'He's a different cat. He's a great guy. He wants to be a locker room guy," Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud said. "He is a locker room guy. Very friendly, very cool. Me and him mesh well. I think it's dope because he's coming off some, a lot of playoff experience and Super Bowl experience. So, he doesn't do nothing but help us. He's doing a great job of just helping us all around.' As for replacements, the Texans still have defensive back Jimmie Ward, but he remains on the PUP list going into training camp next week. Rookie Jaylen Reed was making progress, but he's missed the past several practices after leaving last Friday with a lower-body injury at camp in Houston before the team's departure for West Virginia. Entering their showdown with the Vikings, the back-to-back AFC South champs must rely more on M.J. Stewart and Russ Yeast in Gardner-Johnson's absence.
NBC News
19 minutes ago
- NBC News
Eagles use tush push on opening drive after popular play was nearly banned in NFL
PHILADELPHIA — The tush push is still legal in the NFL — and about as unstoppable as it was in an ill-fated push to ban it for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Even with Super Bowl MVP quarterback Jalen Hurts and the bulk of the Philadelphia starters sitting out the preseason opener on Thursday night against Cincinnati, the Eagles went straight to their favorite short-yardage play on the opening drive. Tanner McKee, the backup QB in the regular season, was indeed pushed in for the score on a fourth-and-1 late in the first quarter. The Eagles ran the play the first chance they could after a contentious offseason around the NFL that saw the possibility of the popular play — at least, in Philly — nearly get banned. McKee's score tied the game at 7-all. League owners narrowly failed to pass a proposal in May to prohibit the polarizing tush push at their spring meetings in Minnesota, keeping the rulebook as is, and keeping fans in happy in Philadelphia. There was a thinned out crowd at the usually sold-out Lincoln Financial Field. Eagles fans started buzzing on fourth down when the home team ran into the familiar formation. McKee, a sixth-round pick out of Stanford in 2023, scored with the ease of Hurts. The ban on offensive players from pushing, pulling, lifting, grasping or encircling a runner was supported by a 22-10 vote, only two votes short of the three-quarters majority required by league bylaws to pass it. The health and safety committees for both the players and the owners and the league's competition committee all unanimously recommended the proposal, which was formally brought forward by the Green Bay Packers at the previous league meetings in Florida earlier in the offseason and tabled for further discussion. Such a ban previously existed and was lifted 20 years ago because it was deemed too difficult to consistently enforce. Commissioner Roger Goodell said he didn't take a stance and was instead simply focusing on fostering a 'full discussion' of the issue of aiding quarterbacks in their plunges into the line.
