Ahead of Sunday’s kickoff against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Philadelphia Eagles unveiled their inactives for Week 4, which included pass rusher Azeez Ojulari and cornerback Adoree’ Jackson.
However, one name not on there was Tanner McKee, who has been sidelined with a right thumb injury that he suffered in August. Instead, Saw Howell, who took McKee’s place as QB2 for the first three games, was on the inactive list as the designated third quarterback.
The regular season “debut” of McKee went under the radar for many Eagles fans, as Jalen Hurts played the game from start to finish once again. That said, it's good to see McKee healthy and back as the QB2.
Tanner McKee Hops Back into Saddle as Eagles’ QB2 in Week 4
The second-year quarterback took noticeable steps this past week at practice after being listed as questionable in Weeks 2 and 3. Ahead of the Eagles’ Week 3 game against the Los Angeles Rams, McKee was a limited participant for all three days of practice.
However, in the days leading up to Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers, the young QB was a limited participant for the first two days of practice, before being upgraded to a full participant on Friday.
There was a lot of buzz surrounding McKee during the summer, especially with how he played in the preseason opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. The former Stanford quarterback was in complete control of the Eagles’ offense and looked comfortable under center, making Philly feel validated for trading Kenny Pickett in the offseason.
Now, when McKee got banged up with a fractured thumb, it threw the Eagles' QB plans into a frenzy, as they had to make a trade with the Minnesota Vikings for Sam Howell after the final third preseason game.
Howell was a notable upgrade over Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Kyle McCord and has some starting experience under his belt. Thankfully, the Eagles didn’t need to turn to Howell during the first three games, but having him as the QB2 allowed McKee to take his time to return from injury.
The Eagles hope that their QB room can stay injury-free as they head into their Week 5 matchup against the Denver Broncos.