Tanner McKee is ready to 'play fast' in his next opportunity to start at QB with the Eagles

Jeff Neiburg, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Jan 2, 2026

Published in Football

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PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles were going through their ball security drills at practice Thursday when running backs coach Jemal Singleton chimed in.

Many starters will get the day off Sunday in the season finale vs. the Washington Commanders. So Singleton wanted to offer a reminder: For some Eagles who will take the field Sunday, their last time getting hit was a while ago. His eyes quickly darted to Tanner McKee, the backup quarterback said.

“It’s actually been a while since I’ve gotten hit,” McKee said Thursday afternoon.

Sure, Jalen Hurts’ backup has hit the field a few times in mop-up duty this season. He handed to Tank Bigsby twice and kneeled twice during the final drive two weeks ago vs. Washington. He led a 17-play drive to the goal line in a blowout over Las Vegas a week earlier. And he handed once to Bigsby before kneeling three times to close out a Week 8 win over the Giants.

This week is different. McKee will get the reins vs. the Commanders as the Eagles give Hurts and some other regulars a week off from game action to get ready for the playoffs. McKee and any other backup will routinely tell you about preparation being the same every week. Backups prepare to start because their number could be called at any time. But McKee said there is a slight difference.

“You’re just more involved with making the calls on the field instead of watching somebody else make the calls,” he said. “So you’re back there and you’re doing your footwork. ‘This is what I would do; these are my reads if I were in.’ But now you’re actually in. It is just kind of getting those physical reps.”

And he will prepare to be hit, too. McKee hasn’t gone into a game as a starter since the preseason. Prior to that it was Week 18 last year, when he completed 27 of 41 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-13 win over the Giants. McKee will again face a divisional foe, but the big difference this time is the game has some stakes. The Eagles were locked into the No. 2 seed last season. This time, McKee could help lead the Eagles to a win with a chance to move into the second spot in the NFC if Detroit beats Chicago.

“I’m definitely excited for that,” McKee said. “It’s obviously fun when something is on the line.”

In that regard, McKee hasn’t played a meaningful game since he was at Stanford in 2022. And while this game does have some possible stakes for the Eagles, it definitely has stakes for McKee, who is still a 25-year-old quarterback trying to put good play on tape. Next season is the final year of his contract, and while there are surely some Eagles fans that want him to be a starter here — and will make their voices heard on radio stations heading into the playoffs if he plays well Sunday — McKee is, in a sense, auditioning for his next job. The Eagles could choose to bring him back as a reliable backup option in 2026, or they could try to flip him for draft capital this offseason.

McKee, who had a good training camp with the Eagles, said he wasn’t thinking ahead about that part of it, but is viewing Sunday as just another opportunity to go do his job and perform. He feels more prepared to do that now than he did at this time last year just because of all the practice time he’s gotten since.

“Obviously with more reps you get more confidence, you have that good chemistry with the guys around you,” McKee said. “I feel like I have a good feel, can play fast. As a quarterback it’s really big to be able to play and just react to the game instead of trying to think, ‘What’s my job? What’s my footwork? What’s everybody else doing?’ You can just play and react and so I feel like I’ve gotten to that point and I feel comfortable doing that.”

A year after his last start, he’ll get a chance to show just how comfortable on Sunday.