If you’re a truly diabolical plotter and schemer, like Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is when it comes to personnel moves, then his team’s Week 18 against the lowly Washington Commanders represents the greatest of opportunities.
Not only do the Eagles get a chance to sit their starters in a meaningless regular season finale for the second consecutive year — a strategy that paid off big in last year’s Super Bowl run — but it also gives them another chance to play backups who could become valuable trait bait this offseason.
Most specifically, that means backup quarterback Tanner McKee, who many teams could view as a plug-and-play starting quarterback in 2026.
“Eagles are expected to rest QB Jalen Hurts and most starters in the season finale vs. the Commanders, sources told The Inquirer,” The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane wrote on X on Wednesday, December 31. “Shouldn’t come as a surprise based on HC Nick Sirianni’s comments when asked about the benefit of having a ‘bye’ week heading into the playoffs.”
The Eagles have already secured a home playoff game by winning the NFC East Division title. Not playing their starters would basically mean punting on the No. 2 seed, which they would only get with a win over the Commanders plus the Chicago Bears losing to the Detroit Lions in Week 18.
That being said, there’s a good chance the Eagles will still beat the Commanders even with the backups.
In 2024, the Eagles started McKee started in place of Hurts in Week 18 and he went 27-of-41 passing for 269 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions in a 20-13 win over the New York Giants.
Plenty of Teams in Play for McKee Trade
While there’s a risk McKee could play poorly and hurt his trade value, the more likely scenario is he only ups the price of what Roseman might get back in return.
For a player who was essentially a throwaway, sixth round pick in the 2023 NFL draft, that might mean getting back a third round pick or — dare we say it — even a second round pick back for McKee.
We don’t have to look far to see the list of teams who might want McKee to come in and start right away, led by the Kansas City Chiefs, who could very well be without 2-time NFL MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes for all of next year with a torn ACL.
There’s also the Indianapolis Colts, where starter Daniel Jones suffered a torn Achilles tendon late in the season or the Miami Dolphins, where starter Tua Tagovailoa is likely out the door following this season.
Eagles Trying to Win Second Consecutive Title
Getting some rest before the playoffs ended up being one of the keys to the Eagles’ run to winning the Super Bowl following last season — and no one benefited from that rest more than Hurts.
When McKee was pressed into duty as the starter last season, it was because Hurts missed all of the final 2 games of the regular season in concussion protocol and his backup, former first round pick Kenny Pickett, injured his ribs in a Week 17 start.
“Doesn’t matter if the starters play,” Bleacher Report’s Thomas R. Petersen wrote on X. “Tanner and Tank (Bigsby) will beat the Commanders regardless.”
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