November 06, 2026

Recapping the Eagles' 2026 quarterback circus, midway through the season

🎵 Do-do, doo-du-du, Do-do, doo-du-du 🎶 Cue the circus music as we look back on the Eagles' QB carousel of the first half.

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Jimmy/for PhillyVoice

🎵 Do-do, doo-du-du, do-do, doo-du-du 🎶

The Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback hierarchy has been a complete circus since the start of the offseason. Let's recap everything that has happened along the way.

When the offseason began, Jalen Hurts was of course the starter, Tanner McKee the QB2, and Sam Howell was the QB3.

QB1	QB2	QB3
Jalen Hurts	Tanner McKee	Sam Howell

At the start of free agency, Howell signed with the Dallas Cowboys. Roughly a week later, the Eagles traded a seventh-round pick for then 38-year-old Andy Dalton. The presumed hierarchy at the time was that Hurts was the QB1, McKee still the QB2, and Dalton the QB3.

QB1	QB2	QB3
Jalen Hurts	Tanner McKee	Andy Dalton

During the 2026 draft, the Eagles selected North Dakota State's Cole Payton, an athletic-but-raw prospect, giving the Eagles four roster-worthy quarterbacks, an unusual setup for them. Would they "redshirt" Payton, or maybe he would just make the team over Dalton if he showed anything special in training camp? Or maybe he would have some kind of Taysom Hill-like role? Designated Tush Pusher? Maybe the Eagles thought they could get a decent return for McKee in a trade? Interesting pick!

QB1	QB2	QB3	QB4
Jalen Hurts	Tanner McKee	Andy Dalton	Cole Payton

Throughout spring practices, McKee and Dalton curiously split reps and they alternated as the QB2. Dalton got more reps as the QB2 overall. That continued into training camp. In the first preseason game, Dalton started, a clear sign that he had leapfrogged McKee in the pecking order.

QB1	QB2	QB3	QB4
Jalen Hurts	Andy Dalton 📈	Tanner McKee 📉	Cole Payton

Around 53-man cutdowns, it was widely assumed that the Eagles would try to find a trade partner for either McKee or Dalton, but nothing ever materialized, likely because both guys played poorly in the preseason games. And so the Eagles just kept both of them. It's probably worth noting that four of the players they cut otherwise were claimed by other teams around the NFL.

Heading into the first week of the season, the Eagles never officially announced who the QB2 was to the public. It was really only known when they had to reveal their inactives in advance of their first regular season game against the Commanders. They also let McKee and Dalton twist in the wind all the way up until gameday, which clearly frustrated Dalton. When asked if he knew who the QB2 was during the week of prep for the Commanders, Dalton asked the media to let him knew if we found out, lol.

Anyway, the Week 1 setup was Jalen Hurts as the starter, Andy Dalton was the QB2, Tanner McKee was the QB3, and Cole Payton was the developmental QB4. That was the pecking order for the first three games of the season:

Week	QB1	QB2	QB3	QB4
1 (WAS)	Jalen Hurts	Andy Dalton	Tanner McKee	Cole Payton
2 (TEN)	Jalen Hurts	Andy Dalton	Tanner McKee	Cole Payton
3 (CHI)	Jalen Hurts	Andy Dalton	Tanner McKee	Cole Payton

In Week 3 in Chicago, during a rare long, successful drive, Hurts took a big hit along the sideline and had to go to the medical tent to get tested for a concussion. When Hurts was waiting for the results of the test, Dalton had to enter the game, and he promptly threw an INT. Drive over, no points, and the game completely shifted in the Bears' favor.

Dalton was then demoted to QB3, and Tanner McKee was the new QB2.

Week	QB1	QB2	QB3	QB4
4 (LA)	Jalen Hurts	Tanner McKee 📈	Andy Dalton 📉	Cole Payton

That was the setup for one game against the Rams. After their loss to the Rams, the Eagles released Dalton. His full Eagles career stat line: 0/1, 0 yards, 1 INT, 0.0 QB rating.

On Friday during the week of preparation for the Eagles' game in London against the Jaguars, Hurts popped up on the injury report with a "calf" injury. That "calf injury" would later be diagnosed as a superficial blood clot.

Nevertheless, Hurts boarded an intercontinental flight to London, played in that game, and then also took the long flight home.

Week	QB1	QB2	QB3	QB4
5 (JAX)	Jalen Hurts	Tanner McKee	Cole Payton 📈	-

Upon his return, Hurts was then diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and bilateral pulmonary emboli (blood clots in the lungs), ending his season. The team has offered no further transparency than that. The NFL Players Association intends on investigating the matter.

Hurts was placed on injured reserve, and McKee was then named the starter for the next game against the Panthers.

After reportedly being told by Dalton that he would not re-join the team, the Eagles signed Joe Milton off of the Cowboys' practice squad. Ironically, Milton had lost a training camp competition to be the Cowboys' QB2 to Howell.

On gameday, Payton was the QB2, and Milton was the emergency third quarterback.

Week	QB1	QB2	QB3	QB4
6 (CAR)	Tanner McKee 📈	Cole Payton 📈	Joe Milton	-

In the next game against the Cowboys, Milton became the QB2, and Payton resumed his role as the emergency quarterback. Against the Commanders the following week, Payton was active on gameday, but was still likely the QB3 behind Milton.

Week	QB1	QB2	QB3	QB4
7 (DAL)	Tanner McKee	Joe Milton 📈	Cole Payton 📉	-
8 (WAS)	Tanner McKee	Joe Milton	Cole Payton	-

McKee lost all three of his starts, mostly while playing in the same backfield with practice squad running backs, throwing to an assortment of backup receivers behind a makeshift offensive line in a nonsensical scheme. He had not been set up for success, to put it mildly. But also, his style of play is not going to elevate the players around him, and he's not really capable of making off-schedule plays when the circumstances around him aren't pristine.

And so, the Eagles made yet another switch, promoting Milton to the starter, and demoting McKee.