The Carolina Panthers gained an advantage for their Week 6 game with the news that came out on Thursday about Philadelphia Eagles starting QB Jalen Hurts.
Hurts is dealing with a superficial blood clot, and the Eagles ruled him out for Sunday’s game in Philadelphia against the Panthers.
That pushes the Eagles to their backup QB after Hurts has started the first five games of this season.
Things will look a lot different as far as what Carolina sees on the field, because the Eagles’ QB2 doesn’t play anything like Hurts.
Who is the Eagles’ Backup QB?
The Eagles’ backup quarterback is Tanner McKee.
McKee is a 6-foot-6, right-handed throwing pocket passer.
He hails originally from the state of California, and he played college football at Stanford.
McKee was drafted in the sixth round by the Eagles in the 2023 NFL Draft with the No. 188 overall pick.
McKee has two starts in his NFL career. He won in 2024 and lost in 2025.
All told, he has attempted 88 NFL passes and completed 54 (61.4%). He has thrown for 597 yards with five touchdowns and just one interception.
McKee isn’t a runner at all. He has just 13 career runs in the NFL for seven yards (including kneel downs).
The Eagles will have to change their entire gameplan to rely on McKee instead of Hurts. The same will be true for the Panthers’ defensive gameplan, which now can worry a lot less about the QB run.
Eagles QB Depth Chart
The Eagles have been relying on Hurts as their starter for years now, but they won’t have him on Sunday at home against the Panthers.
McKee has been the backup but will be elevated to the starting job for Week 6. It’ll be his third career start.
Cole Payton has been operating as the QB3. He was a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft out of North Dakota State.
Unlike McKee, Payton is quite mobile. He’s also left-handed. He’ll be the backup to McKee on Sunday.
The Eagles don’t have a quarterback on their practice squad right now.
They did have the veteran Andy Dalton earlier in the season, but they released him a few weeks ago. There’s always a chance they bring him back.
Teams generally like to have three healthy quarterbacks in the building, so if the Eagles think this is a long-term issue for Hurts, they’ll likely remedy their depth chart options in short order.
Panthers Impact
The Panthers should benefit greatly from this change.
They were already slight betting favorites — they’re coming off a bye week while the Eagles just played in London — and this will increase the chances of Carolina winning on Sunday.
The Eagles are already dinged up, including stars Saquon Barkley and Devonta Smith. And now with no Hurts, Philadelphia could have a tough time keeping up with Carolina.
Who is Eagles’ Backup QB? Panthers Won’t Face Jalen Hurts This Week