Are the Philadelphia Eagles going to trade Tanner McKee this offseason?
It seems like the backup quarterback to Jalen Hurts could generate some interest from other teams.
McKee is on the New York Jets’ radar, according to a report from Tony Pauline (bold emphasis mine):
After last year’s failure at quarterback, the Jets are once again in the market for a starting signal caller to compete with or replace Justin Fields. Much of the narrative outside the league has centered around the team potentially making a trade for Kyler Murray. Yet people in the league tell me if general manager Darren Mougey gets his way, the Jets will look to bring in a less-expensive signal caller, and two names keep entering the conversation: Tanner McKee and Davis Mills.
The Jets have an obvious (and perpetual) need at quarterback after Fields struggled and got benched for Tyrod Taylor last season. The Jets employ former Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich, who spent last season at McKee’s alma mater: Stanford. New Jets quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave coached in the same college conference (at Cal in the old PAC-12) as McKee while he played for the Cardinal from 2020-2022. Perhaps it’s also relevant that Mougey overlapped with Eagles senior personnel director/advisor to the general manager Matt Russell in the Denver Broncos’ front office from 2012-2020. And then there’s the fact that Eagles executive Joe Douglas used to be the Jets’ GM.
The Eagles obviously don’t HAVE to trade McKee if they don’t want to do so. There’s value in him being the backup to Hurts for at least one more season.
But if the Birds do hang onto McKee, he’ll likely leave Philly as a free agent after the 2026 season in search of an NFL home where he has a better path to playing time.
So, it’s feasible that the Eagles and Jets could make a deal. Former Eagles executive Daniel Jeremiah, who knows Howie Roseman well, also recently suggested as much:
“[McKee and Davis] are a couple guys I’d be curious about taking a flyer on for a year if you can trade a mid-round pick. I don’t think I would lean in the direction of the draft for their quarterback this year. I think they will be all in for that next year.” […] “Those are a couple guys I’d be curious about taking a flyer on for a year if you can trade a mid-round pick. I don’t think I would lean in the direction of the draft for their quarterback this year. I think they will be all in for that next year.”
McKee’s NFL experience is limited; he’s attempted just 88 regular season passes over two starts in six total games played. However, he has shown some good flashes in limited playing time. It’s unclear what his value will be.
The Jets also don’t have a third-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft; they sent that selection to the Eagles for Haason Reddick two years ago. But they do have two second-round picks this year in addition to two first-round picks. They also have three first-round picks in 2027. The Eagles likely won’t be acquiring these assets in exchange for McKee but the point is that they give the Jets more flexibility to trade their other picks. Maybe something like a 2027 fourth-round pick that can turn into a third-round pick with playing time conditions?
If the Eagles do trade McKee, it begs to question how they’d replace him. Backup quarterbacks aren’t cheap; the likes of Zach Wilson and Jarrett Stidham — who aren’t even inspiring options — cost $6 million each last year. The thinking here is the Eagles could draft a quarterback in part because a rookie is much more affordable. Plus, gotta keep the QB factory churning and try to turn the new guy into the next McKee!
What say you? Should the Eagles trade McKee? What do you think is a realistic return? Scroll down to the comments and weigh in!
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