The long wait is over, and the NFL preseason is finally here. Kicking off with the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, football is officially back. We are a month away from the Week 1 showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. Until then, however, the Eagles will have three preseason games, which will be the final chance for Nick Sirianni and the coaching staff to evaluate the roster.
On August 26, teams must reduce their rosters to 53 players, meaning that there will be plenty of cuts between now and then. This includes the Eagles, who have yet to make a determination in a few key position battles.
The quarterback room is largely set in Philadelphia. However, there is competition for the QB3 spot. While Jalen Hurts and Tanner McKee will begin the season as QB1 and QB2, respectively, the Eagles have a battle between Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Kyle McCord for the third-string quarterback role.
It's not obvious that the Eagles will bring three quarterbacks into the 53-man roster. They may easily choose to sign one to the practice squad instead as the emergency option, while only keeping Hurts and McKee active. Regardless of this decision, Thompson-Robinson will likely find himself as the odd man out in Philadelphia.
August Will Likely Be Dorian Thompson-Robinson's Last Month as an Eagle
Earlier in the offseason, this decision seemed easier. The Eagles had just drafted McCord in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and DTR hadn't particularly impressed in his previous stint with the Browns. Many assumed that the Eagles would keep McCord over the former UCLA star.
The last week of practices, however, changed the calculation a little bit. Martin Frank of the Delaware News Journal reported that Thompson-Robinson has looked better than McCord, as the former Syracuse standout threw an interception and made a few too many mistakes.
This may have created an unexpected battle for the QB3 spot, but a few practices shouldn't change the big picture in the Eagles' quarterback room. Thompson-Robinson has had his chances as a starter in the NFL and hasn't shown enough to prove that he is an NFL-caliber signal-caller.
McCord, on the other hand, is younger and has more untapped potential, coming off a highly productive season at Syracuse. Giving up on that potential in favor of Thompson-Robinson wouldn't make too much sense for the Eagles, making this a relatively easy decision before August 26.