Eagles QB Competition Between Kenny Pickett & Tanner McKee Sparks Trade Talk
The competition at backup quarterback has turned into one of the more interesting storylines for the Philadelphia Eagles heading into the 2024 regular season.
After the team sent a 2024 third-round pick (No. 98 overall) and two 2025 seventh-round picks to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for Kenny Pickett in March, Pickett usurped Tanner McKee as QB2 on Philly’s depth chart.
The depth chart hasn’t changed, and Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has continued to say Pickett is the team’s backup behind starter Jalen Hurts. But with McKee arguably outperforming Pickett both in preseason games as well as in practice, a change is certainly possible. So is a trade.
Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports put together a list of the NFL’s top trade candidates, and he believes Pickett is one of them.
Will Philadelphia Eagles Trade QB Kenny Pickett to QB-Needy Team?
Pickett, who was drafted No. 20 overall by Pittsburgh in 2022, has yet to live up to his first-round status.
The 26-year-old QB started 12 games in 2022 and again in 2023, going 7-5 for the Steelers each season. He has completed 62.6% of his pass attempts for 4,474 yards, 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions over his first two seasons.
“Even after a relatively underwhelming summer, the Philadelphia Eagles would surely prefer to keep Pickett’s NFL experience onboard as insurance for Jalen Hurts. The ex-Pittsburgh Steelers starter has never enjoyed a better supporting cast,” Benjamin wrote on August 15.
“That said, the Eagles are always in the business of collecting/flipping quarterbacks, and third-stringer Tanner McKee has shown enough poise to warrant No. 2 consideration in back-to-back years. Pickett is local to the Philly area, but he’d almost certainly sign off on a chance to get right back into a starting gig, adding to the appeal of another move.”
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