Sam Howell<\/strong> to depart for Dallas in free agency, trading away McKee would necessitate the addition of not less than one latest arm (and certain a pair more to get through camp).<\/p>\nTo that end, Berman suggested the signing of a free agent of their mid-20s with starting experience \u2014 perhaps a reunion with Kenny Pickett<\/strong> \u2014 and the drafting of a mid- to late-round rookie. A trade to ship out McKee never took shape, and per Berman, there was \u201cno indication\u201d that one will. With McKee in place behind Hurts, it seemed only a draft addition is perhaps needed, and the Eagles delivered on that by choosing North Dakota State passer Cole Payton<\/strong> within the fifth round.<\/p>\nWhile Philadelphia now had the three bodies within the QB room that Berman desired, the team still selected to pursue a veteran arm with starting experience. After Berman\u2019s preferred goal signed with the Panthers, the Eagles opted to alleviate Pickett of competition for the QB2 role in Carolina by trading to accumulate Panthers backup Andy Dalton<\/strong>. Now, Dalton is a veteran with starting experience, like Berman was in search of, but at 38 years old, Dalton is a tick past his mid-20s. At first, it was thought that he was brought in so as to add a veteran voice to the room, but Berman is under the impression that Dalton is legitimately pushing McKee for the QB2 role.<\/p>\nDalton\u2019s addition doesn\u2019t just alter McKee\u2019s situation but Payton\u2019s, as well. Before the trade, it seemed that Payton had been drafted to fill the QB3 role left vacant in Howell\u2019s departure. With Dalton in the combo, now, it seems apparent that the third string role might be given to the loser of the QB2 battle. It doesn\u2019t quite make sense to let Payton walk, though. The team grew to love him while meeting throughout the pre-draft process as Payton was rising up draft boards.<\/p>\n
For this reason, Berman doesn\u2019t rule out the likelihood that McKee still is perhaps traded away. If the Eagles imagine they’re secure with Dalton and Payton behind Hurts, they could opt to deal McKee and shift focus to developing Payton. In the event that they don\u2019t think Dalton is able to effectively backing up Hurts, though, they could find it vital to carry on to McKee and utilize the ultimate 12 months of his rookie deal.<\/p>\n
If McKee does get dealt, Berman offered that a team just like the Jets<\/strong> might have been interested. It was recently reported that Recent York might keep watch over Titans backup Will Levis<\/strong> for a late trade or waiver wire pickup, and while Levis has a bit more experience that McKee, the 2 wouldn\u2019t be that far apart as potential trade targets. Philly reports to training camp about every week and half from now, and all eyes aren\u2019t necessarily on this competition, nevertheless it could have major ramifications for the front office\u2019s decision-making.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A couple of weeks after the Eagles fell disappointingly short of their efforts to retain their status as Super Bowl Champions, Zach Berman of The Athletic laid out the blueprint of an offseason plan for the way the team might work their way back to the top of the game. This plan included a little […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":368508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[338],"tags":[2917,44857,22960,54001,24107,3838],"class_list":["post-368507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-battle","tag-indications","tag-mckee","tag-qb2","tag-tanner","tag-trade"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t