Eagles QB Tanner McKee Earning Roster Spot After 'High Level' Play?

According to coach Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles rookie quarterback Tanner McKee "operated at a high level" in the team's preseason opener against the Baltimore Ravens.

BALTIMORE – Tanner McKee. Who knew?

The rookie quarterback wasn’t exactly lighting it up during training camp practices, but when the lights came on at M&T Stadium against the Baltimore Ravens, the Stanford product shined about as brightly as one could expect.

He completed 50 percent of his throws for 148 yards and five of the Eagles’ six longest plays in the 20-19 loss were due to his ability to not only take deep shots but complete them.

Not that Jalen Hurts’ job is in any trouble, but Ian Book’s certainly is, and maybe, at some point, Marcus Mariota’s might be, too.

That’s a way-too-early thought, but it can’t be discounted. There’s still plenty of work to be done, obviously, but it was a promising first step.

“The first play he is in, he puts a back shoulder on Tyrie (Cleveland) – what a perfectly-placed ball,” said coach Nick Sirianni.

That was a 27-yard completion that kick-started an Eagles’ drive that ended in a 49-yard Jake Elliott field goal to pull Philly within 7-6 of the Ravens.

“We’ve been seeing that in practice,” Sirianni said. “He’s made a number of really nice throws like that. He makes good, quick decisions, usually goes to the right place with the football, and is an accurate passer, and that’s what we saw in college.

“We’re really excited to work with him. I thought he did well. His stats might not look great. …You always want that completion percentage to be up a little bit, but I thought he did a lot of nice things and operated at a high level.”

The throw to Cleveland was the second-longest play of the night. The longest was a 33-yard hook-up to Johnny King. The other big ones were 19 yards to Jadon Haselwood, 18 yards to Cleveland, and 17 yards to Greg Ward.

“Before the game, I was talking to our quarterbacks coach Alex Tanney,” said McKee, who is 6-6, 230 pounds. “I was like this is pretty surreal right now just putting on an Eagles uniform. 

"I know for the first time in practice, it was surreal but to actually strap up and being able to play against another team it was obviously super exciting to get every opportunity that I had.”

By comparison, Book was skittish. He held the ball too long, appearing unsure of who to throw to based on some of the double clutches he had. And his scrambling only got him trouble, including one poor decision where he ran backward before being taken down for a 21-yard loss.

Book also stared down a receiver on a two-point try that would have given the Eagles a 21-20 lead late in the game. He waited too long before throwing it for grabs in the back of the end zone, where a Ravens defender intercepted it.

Playing just the fourth quarter, Book’s night ended with one completion in four tries for 11 yards and he was sacked twice.

Clearly, McKee has a leg up to be the third quarterback after entering the game early in the second quarter and playing all of the third.

“For me personally, (my goal is) to show I can be a leader and command the offense and move the ball down the field,” he said. “I feel like especially in the preseason we’re going to try to eliminate sloppy football like what Coach Sirianni says. 

"Just be able to operate at a higher level and get to our checks, not have delay of games or pre-snap penalties. So, just being able to operate, get everyone on the same page, and play clean football.”

Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.

Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Philadelphia Eagles? Click Here.

Want even more Philadelphia Eagles news? Check out the SI.com team page here