Will Eagles keep Tanner McKee and Andy Dalton after QB2 battle?

PHILADELPHIA — And now for what is unquestionably the most important topic of training camp.

Backup quarterback.

Maybe someday there will be a universal sarcasm font. But, seriously, the QB2 conversation has always meant more for the Philadelphia Eagles than for other organizations. General manager Howie Roseman historically keeps three capable quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, and, in March, he bolstered depth behind Tanner McKee by trading for Andy Dalton.

If this were a previous training camp, the Eagles likely would be done here. But McKee, a 2023 sixth-round pick, is entering the final year of his rookie contract. Roseman is therefore aware of the ticking clock on McKee’s trade value. That the Eagles spent a 2027 seventh-round pick to acquire Dalton also demonstrates that the 16-year veteran still embodies trade value. Do the Eagles leverage their QB2 battle to trade either player? Or do they enter the regular season with their three-QB status quo?

There is, of course, a fourth quarterback in the mix: Cole Payton, the Eagles’ rookie fifth-round pick. His expectedly inconsistent first five practices make it murky to speculate the stage of his development by the start of the regular season. Last year, Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s poor preseason and sixth-round pick Kyle McCord’s rocky camp prompted Roseman to trade for Sam Howell two days before cutdown day. Consider the Dalton trade Roseman’s correction to not enter training camp without two surefire backups. If Payton progresses, parting with McKee or Dalton becomes more palatable.

Foremost, the Eagles must know who is backing up Jalen Hurts in Week 1. McKee and Dalton both spoke after Tuesday’s training camp practice. McKee, who held the role in 2025, was the presumptive QB2 when the offseason began. His promising two-game stretch as a rookie still drives conversations about his potential. However, his struggles within a clunky system during a spot start in the 2025 regular-season finale raised questions about his limitations. But McKee said he was not surprised when Roseman reached out upon acquiring Dalton.

“They’re trying to improve the roster every year,” McKee said. “So anybody they can bring in to make you compete or make you earn your spot, that’s definitely what everybody wants. For a player,  it’s great. It is great to have somebody to push you and to make you better. The stakes in practice are a little bit higher. It makes it fun.”

The Eagles didn’t add competition at quarterback purely on principle. They hired first-time offensive coordinator Sean Mannion to overhaul their system toward the styles of Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay, and McKee lacked both knowledge of the scheme’s concepts and experience with an offense that features a high rate of under-center presentations. (He has 14 under-center snaps in the NFL, per TruMedia, and he totaled 46 under-center dropbacks in his career at Stanford versus 706 shotgun snaps.)

Dalton, 38, is far more familiar with the concepts Mannion is installing. Dalton, who started for the Cincinnati Bengals across nine seasons, said Mannion’s system is most similar to the time he spent with coach Zac Taylor in 2019. Dalton also experienced relatable concepts while backing up Bryce Young for the Carolina Panthers under coach Dave Canales in 2024 and 2025.

“I feel very comfortable in this offense,” Dalton said.

There is a degree of newness for Dalton, though. The Eagles coaching staff does not inform Dalton or McKee before practice about how their reps are divvied up that day. Instead, Dalton and McKee stand by until someone informs them they’re entering a drill with the second team or the third team — just as the series is beginning. Dalton called this method a first for him. The strategy is understood: The Eagles are simulating what it’s like to be an in-game backup, and their performance is part of the evaluation.

“I was joking with Tanner, I was like, ‘This is just real life right here. You don’t know when you’re going to be going in,’” Dalton said. “I think it’s a good thing. There’s times — you obviously want to prepare. As you look at the script and kind of get what plays you’re doing, it’s easy to go and be like, ‘All right, these are the plays I’m going to get.’ But when you don’t know when you’re going in, you’ve got to be ready for all of it. I think it only makes you better. With the way I’m going about it, I’m like, ‘Just tell me when I’m going in.’ It kind of takes something off your plate, like, ‘Am I going in now?’”

But splitting reps means fewer snaps for either quarterback. This is particularly impactful for McKee, who is learning this system for the first time. McKee said the experience is “similar” to in-season practices, when the starter is getting the majority of the reps.

“So, the mental reps are very important,” McKee said. “Asking questions in the meeting rooms are important. And then taking advantage of every rep you get. Sometimes you learn from mistakes, but a lot of times you have to learn from mistakes of other people as well. So, paying attention, watching from the sideline, watching film — all of those things are just a little bit more important when you’re not getting as many (reps).”

The Eagles have less than a month to make a decision. That still affords them ample time to evaluate their quarterback depth. Their first preseason game is Aug. 15 against the Baltimore Ravens. The following week, the Eagles have a two-day joint practice with the New England Patriots.

The Eagles may indeed keep both players. The organization values mentorship. McKee said Dalton is a “great guy” he can “learn a ton from,” and “it’s great picking his brain, especially with the new offense.” Keeping Dalton around as a resource for McKee (and of course, Hurts) offers in-season value.

But Roseman’s fifth-round investment in Payton is notable. The Eagles haven’t waived a fifth-round pick in training camp since 2019 — a quarterback, Clayton Thorson (but after signing Josh McCown midway through camp). The Eagles coveted Payton’s athleticism and drafted him knowing his passing needed work. Payton threw three interceptions in Thursday’s practice, but coach Nick Sirianni lauded him for not being “afraid to rip it in there over the top of linebackers.”

“I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him so far,” Sirianni said.

There are, of course, plans and there are surprises. Perhaps disaster befalls another team in training camp, and suddenly McKee’s tape becomes desirable enough for that team to offer Roseman a deal he can’t refuse. Perhaps Dalton serves a purpose in training camp and is traded to supplement future draft capital or secure depth in other positional needs, such as safety or edge rusher.

The QB2 conversation will still be notable when the regular season begins, especially if McKee remains on the roster. Will the Eagles eye the Nov. 10 trade deadline? Will they intend to extend him before he hits free agency? Or will McKee’s value on the open market create a pathway to starting contention on another roster?

Top takeaways from Day 5 of training camp

• Starting right tackle Lane Johnson missed his third consecutive practice with an excused/non-injury designation. Wide receivers DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon were sidelined during Tuesday’s practice with hamstring injuries; Lemon, who missed most of OTAs and minicamp with a hamstring injury, did not participate in team drills during Saturday’s indoor session. Other injuries included edge rusher Keyshawn James-Newby (ankle), guard Micah Morris (shoulder), guard Jaeden Roberts (calf contusion) and safety Cole Wisniewski (hamstring).
• Rookie Markel Bell played first-team right tackle in place of Lane Johnson for the second straight day.
• Training camp victories continue to be defensive-sided. Smith and Lemon were notably sidelined, but it wasn’t encouraging that the remainder of the first-team offense struggled to move the ball against the developmental defensive unit. Quez Watkins could not track a deep ball when he appeared open against Tariq Castro-Fields, Jakorian Bennett broke up a sideline pass to Johnny Wilson with a pre-snap flag flying, and Will Shipley dropped a sure-fire explosive pass on a wide-open wheel route. (Shipley stayed back after practice and ran the same route twice with Hurts.) The defense also won overall in red-zone drills. The first-team offense had a false start on a third-and-10 that ended the drive. Andy Dalton and Darius Cooper weren’t on the same page on a third-and-long with the second-team: Cooper went inside, Dalton threw right and incomplete. McKee, playing with the third-team unit, was “sacked” via non-contact to force a third-and-long that they did not play out.
• Darius Cooper did have a play for the highlight reel: on a goal-to-go team rep with Dalton at quarterback, Cooper hauled in a one-handed touchdown catch against the first-team defense, and with Cooper DeJean in coverage.
• Dontayvion Wicks battled Quinyon Mitchell three times in one-on-one drills. Wicks caught a quick out from Hurts with Mitchell in tight coverage. Wicks dove for a deep ball along the right sideline in tight coverage, and bobbled the pass incomplete while hitting the ground. Mitchell, seemingly in press man on an inside route, beat Wicks inside but couldn’t catch what would have been an interception.