After a messy exit out of Pittsburgh via trade, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett could be in trouble. Although he started Eagles training camp strong, Pickett has found himself in a battle for Philadelphia's backup spot.
“Might be time to have the Tanner McKee over Kenny Pickett discussion,” 94.1 Wip's Eliot Shorr-Parks wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Would be very curious to see them both get reps with the 1st team offense just to see who does better. It might be McKee.”
The Eagles selected Tanner McKee in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-6 quarterback out of Stanford shined during last year's preseason and came into this offseason with hopes of climbing the depth chart. When Philadelphia acquired Pickett, they hoped he'd support the quarterback room. Instead, Pickett's arrival was just a roadblock for McKee, who is firmly in the mix to backup Philadelphia star Jalen Hurts.
Pickett has still gotten the overwhelming majority of second-team snaps. Meanwhile, McKee has gotten one or two team sessions with the twos so far. However, in Philadelphia's latest practice, McKee earned second-team reps over Pickett, further driving home that McKee might leapfrog Pickett soon.
How did Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett end up here?
Pickett requested a trade out of Pittsburgh following the signing of Russell Wilson. In the deal, the Steelers also sent a fourth-round pick to the Eagles and received a third-round pick and two seventh-round selections. Shortly after the team dealt him to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh traded with the Chicago Bears for quarterback Justin Fields, giving the Steelers a new quarterback room.
On paper, Pickett still shows some signs of being an NFL starting quarterback. In his 25 games as a Steeler, he threw for 4,474 yards, completing 62.6% of his passes with 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. While he wasn’t put in the best situation to succeed in the NFL, his lack of production was an issue, and Pittsburgh couldn't afford to run it back. That led to the Steelers acquiring Wilson and Pickett moving on to the Eagles.
So, with that in mind, landing with the Eagles was a chance for Pickett to get a fresh start. Hurts was the No. 1 quarterback in Philadelphia, so there was no pressure on Pickett. All he had to do was backup Hurts and play well in the preseason or limited regular season chances. If he accomplished all that, Pickett could parlay that into a highly-paid starting job elsewhere in free agency or through a trade.
But with the recent McKee development, Pickett could be fighting for his future. It'll be a training camp battle worth watching. The Eagles are looking to bounce back from last season's disappointing collapse after starting 10-1.
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