Bill Streicher
Many concluded when the Eagles acquired Andy Dalton in a trade earlier this month that Howie Roseman and company might have cooled on Tanner McKee. That doesn't appear to be the case.
In fact, ESPN's Rich Cimini appeared on "The Saturday Huddle" — H/T Jimmy Kempski of Philly Voice — and said that the Eagles had a high asking price on McKee when the New York Jets called to ask about his availability earlier this offseason:
"They looked into trading for guys like Tanner McKee and Davis Mills and Mac Jones," Cimini said of the Jets. "Those teams were asking for second-round picks for these guys, so, exorbitant prices."
Ultimately, the Jets chose to reacquire Geno Smith in a trade with the Raiders that saw them also net a seventh-round pick, while sending a sixth-round pick to Las Vegas.
Perhaps a team like the Pittsburgh Steelers or Arizona Cardinals could still end up in on McKee depending upon how the remainder of the offseason plays out for them, but the feeling you're left with is that the Eagles are content to have McKee play out the final year of his rookie contract unless they get overwhelmed by a trade offer.
So why did they send a seventh-round pick to the Carolina Panthers to trade for Dalton?
In the event that the Eagles do wind up trading McKee around the time of the NFL Draft, they'll have a capable backup behind Jalen Hurts. Now 38, Dalton has made 169 career starts, so it's not like he'll be afraid of the moment if the Eagles need him to step in at some point.
At the same time, the Eagles gave up almost nothing to acquire Dalton. If Training Camp winds down and McKee is still with the Eagles, it shouldn't be hard for the Eagles to find a team in need of a backup quarterback that will give them a seventh-round pick for Dalton.
