The Philadelphia Eagles enter the 2025 campaign with hopes of repeating as Super Bowl champions.
One of the big reasons why Philadelphia was as successful as it was last season was the play of starting QB Jalen Hurts. Given the way Hurts utilizes his legs to create plays outside of the pocket, the need for a more than serviceable backup is a big one, as all it takes is one hit to knock the veteran out of the lineup.
That makes the move made by the front office to trade Kenny Pickett to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a 2025 fifth-round pick an important one, as it lifted Tanner McKee to the No. 2 spot on the depth chart, an outcome he admitted on Tuesday he was very excited about.
Eagles' Tanner McKee Admits He Was Excited Kenny Pickett Got Traded
Seeing a teammate traded away is never something to celebrate. However, in McKee's case, this could be the exception to that rule. During his time with the media on Tuesday, Philadelphia's sixth-round pick from the 2023 NFL Draft shared that he was excited to see Pickett traded to the Browns, as it meant a door had opened for him to take the next step in a city he wants to call home for a long time.
Tanner McKee shares backstory on "excitement" of winning backup QB job #FlyEaglesFly https://t.co/wQvmZW2UTb
— Anthony Miller (@ByAnthonyMiller) July 30, 2025
"I was very excited with what happened," McKee said, via Zach Berman of AllPhly.com. "I love Philadelphia. I love being here. I want to be here as long as I can. So it was obviously very exciting when Howie called me and told me the news. And obviously, just know they have a lot of trust in me to perform. And obviously if something does happen to (Jalen Hurts), I can move the ball and the offense in how it's supposed to be run. So that was great having that confidence from the top down."
McKee has every reason to be confident in his abilities after standing out in the two opportunities he had to play during the 2024 regular season. After seeing time in two late-season wins over the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, the former Stanford Cardinal standout finished the season completing 30 of his 45 attempts for 323 yards and four touchdowns.
Those positive showings have made McKee a favorite of Eagles fans as well. Many of the replies to his comments regarding the Pickett trade suggested the backup QB could be a starter for several other teams within the league.
The 25-year-old signal caller isn't going anywhere, though. He appears to be ready to take on the pressure that comes with being the quarterback of the defending Super Bowl champions, as well, should he be pushed into that scenario due to an injury to Hurts.
Hopefully, that doesn't happen and any game time McKee sees this coming season occurs in mop-up duty at the end of a blowout or, as we saw last year, during Weeks 16 and 17 after the Eagles have locked up the division and, ideally, homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.