QB3 For Eagles Was Never A Race

The Eagles believe in second-year QB Tanner McKee as a developmental option.

Eagles QB Tanner McKee / John McMullen/Eagles SI

PHILADELPHIA - When it comes to the NFL you generally don’t win anything in the spring so Tanner McKee’s reinforced status as the developmental quarterback in Philadelphia after offseason work wasn’t about competition.

That may surprise some because the Eagles signed quarterback Will Grier pretty early in free agency – March 24 to be exact.

Grier, a 2019 third-round pick by the Carolina Panthers, had bounced around since then with Philadelphia being his sixth NFL city.

Players like that with two career starts and 52 live throws under their belts typically aren’t on the to-do lists of general managers that early in the process so many took notice of the signing and what it may have meant for McKee.

Considering the date and Grier’s recent history of tagging along with new Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and first-year Philadelphia QB coach Doug Nussmeier, it wasn’t the best sign.

The Eagles are Grier's third stop as a student of Moore and Nussmeier, and the fourth consecutive year the trio is working together. That started with a 2021-22 stint with the Dallas Cowboys and a December run last season with the Los Angeles Chargers, who signed Grier off the New England practice squad.

Until you left the vacuum, the most obvious answer was that Moore and Nussmeier felt comfortable with Grier and perhaps the West Virginia product via Florida was going to be the new QB3 behind entrenched starter Jalen Hurts and capable backup Kenny Pickett.

After all, Grier is still only 29 at a position that often requires a lengthy evolution and had a better pedigree coming out of college than McKee, who was not selected with Moore and Nussmeier in mind back in 2023.

That was quickly dismissed by the organization and the understanding after the Grier signing was that the Eagles remained very high on McKee's upside.

That wasn’t lip service because McKee took every third-team snap in the OTAs open to reporters and the mandatory minicamp with Grier handling developmental-period snaps after the actual practices.

A league source said that Moore and Nussmeier believe in Grier's football IQ and feel he’s an extension of their teaching methods in the locker room.

Having that kind of sounding board reinforcing concepts you're trying to teach three other new students can be valuable.

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