The Philadelphia Eagles, coming off a Super Bowl win, are – unsurprisingly – not particularly active in the free agency market, despite losing key starters, Milton Williams and Josh Sweat at the start of the legal tampering period.
One position that the team will certainly not be concerned about is at quarterback, where Jalen Hurts established himself as one of the top QBs in the NFL last season in the regular season and playoffs.
However, behind him was a different question, with both Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee competing for the backup spot that ultimately went to Pickett.
Eagles Land Dorian Thompson-Robinson After Trading Kenny Pickett
Yet, now there will a new QB2 in Philly, as the Eagles have traded Kenny Pickett to the Cleveland Browns in return for a fifth round pick and, interestingly, Browns QB, Dorian Thompson-Robinson – known best to people by his initials “DTR” – per Adam Schefter.
Not only is it interesting that Pickett; who did little to improve his stock after playing most of his offensive snaps in just one game, completing 59.5% of his passes for 291 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception; commanded more than a fifth round pick – but that Thompson-Robinson was also a part of the deal.
It would seem to be unlikely that the Eagles look at DTR as their backup this upcoming season. Not only has he played pretty horrifically over the course of his two seasons in the NFL; his quarterback rating in 2024 was a measly 39.5; but the Eagles (and their fanbase) have been impressed by the performances of former 6th round pick, Tanner McKee.
The Time Is Now For Tanner McKee (As Backup)
DTR is clearly a project – and one who has significant athletic talent. However, he is not close to being a bona fide backup quarterback for any team, particularly one who has just come off a Super Bowl win, and is looking to remain competitive in years to come.
Tanner McKee, on the other hand, showed genuine promise in his few outings in 2024. In 2 games, the former Stanford grad threw for 323 yards, 4 touchdowns and no interceptions – with a strong 66.7% completion percentage.
Forget about high-end backup, those numbers more closely resemble those of a top 10 quarterback in the NFL. Granted, it is a small sample size against teams that have not aggressively prepared for him and do not have extensive tape on him, but they are still eye-popping numbers nonetheless.
With Pickett, whose contract expires after the 2025 season, gone, the coast is fairly clear for the third year quarterback to put a stamp on that QB2 position for the next two years.
As for DTR, it is not exactly clear what his role will be in the organization outside of the emergency QB3. Even then, the decision to trade for him seems strange given there are likely even third stringers who pass the ball more effectively than he does.
But general manager, Howie Roseman, and head coach, Nick Sirianni, likely see potential and ability where those see disappointment from the former 5th round pick out of UCLA – who was ironically selected 48 picks before McKee in 2023 draft.
And if it doesn’t work out – the Eagles didn’t give up anything for him.
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