The Philadelphia Eagles aren’t going to keep 4 quarterbacks on the roster, which means something has to give in the 3-way battle behind starter Jalen Hurts.
It means either Tanner McKee, the backup for the last 2 seasons, rookie Cole Payton, or veteran Andy Dalton has to go.
According to Go Birds Pod’s Elliott Shorr-Parks, it’s Dalton who will be the odd man out in his latest 53-man roster projections.
“Even though there is a QB competition at backup QB I could see Andy Dalton landing on the practice squad,” Shorr-Parks wrote on his official X account on June 22. “More likely to be cut and put on the PS than McKee or Payton.”
It’s the latest ominous prediction for Dalton, whom the Eagles traded a 7th-round pick to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for on March 18.
SB Nation’s Brandon Lee Gowton called Dalton 1 of the big losers following spring workouts.
“But even on his best day, Dalton’s lacking arm strength was apparent as he barely completed some out routes that were tightly contested by defenders. And aside from that one day, Dalton struggled,” Gowton wrote. “Inaccurate passes were an issue and he threw multiple interceptions.”
Andy Dalton’s Career Probably Wrapping Up
There’s a chance that Dalton, 38, might just not have anything left after 15 seasons in the NFL, in which he’s played for 6 teams, been a 3-time Pro Bowler, and banked an incredible $114.6 million in career earnings.
Dalton was a 2nd round pick (No. 35 overall) by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2011 NFL draft after going 36-3 in his final 3 seasons as the starter for TCU, including an undefeated, 13-0 season in 2010.
With the Bengals, Dalton went 70-61-2 as the full-time starter for 9 seasons before embarking on the journeyman portion of his career, including 1-year stints with the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, and New Orleans Saints before spending the last 3 seasons with the Panthers.
One incredible stat about Dalton — in all 15 of his NFL seasons, he’s started at least 1 game every year.
Eagles Could Throw Wrench in QB Mix
Despite drafting a quarterback in each of the last 2 seasons, including Payton with a 5th-round pick in 2026, the biggest plot twist at the position could still be yet to come.
According to a report from Sports Illustrated’s Jason La Canfora, the Eagles were ready to use a 2nd round pick on Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby in the supplemental draft.
“One GM told me if college QB Brendan Sorsby would have entered the supplemental draft he thinks the Eagles would have taken him in the second round,” La Canfora wrote. “Jalen Hurts has no guaranteed money beyond this season, and the Eagles are always looking to upgrade. Even a past Super Bowl MVP might not be enough unless Hurts steps up his game.”
Sorsby’s dramatic fall from grace has been the biggest story of the college football offseason. In May, he admitted to placing $90,000 in bets over the previous 4 years, including at least 40 bets on his own teams — he previously played for Indiana and Cincinnati.
Sorsby was ruled ineligible by the NCAA, denied reinstatement upon appeal, then granted an injunction by a Texas judge that would have allowed him to play. On June 15, after an enormous amount of backlash, Sorsby applied for the supplemental draft.
Eagles Predicted to Part Ways With 3-Time Pro Bowl QB