Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles news and links …
Final Roster Prediction – Iggles Blitz QB – 3 – Jalen Hurts, Tanner McKee, Cole Payton. The QB2 battle has been weird this summer. Whatever the Eagles plan was, it didn’t work. Neither McKee nor Dalton was good. I don’t think anyone is trading for either guy. If Howie can find a taker for Dalton, go ahead and put him in Canton. I don’t have a lot of confidence in what the team will do here since things were so weird this summer. Nothing will shock
me, including a trade to add a QB.
Handing out 10 awards from the Eagles-Bengals preseason game – PhillyVoice
2) The ‘When You Have Two QB2s, You Really Don’t Have Any’ Award 👎👎: Tanner McKee and Andy Dalton McKee had a rough game. He finished 12 of 22 for 55 yards (2.5 YPA), 0 TDs. and 1 INT. Most of those yards were on checkdowns to Carson Steele. McKee made several bad throws along the way, including a missed opportunity to hit a wide open Britain Covey for what should have been a TD after Covey smoked a Bengals DB on a stutter-go. Meanwhile, Dalton is 38 years old with 173 career starts and he was playing with a lot of guys who aren’t going to make the team in the second half of the final preseason game. Dalton looked better than McKee at least, finishing 12 of 19 for 104 yards, 1 TD, and 0 INTs. He had one good drive, and otherwise looked a lot like a 38-year-old playing in the second half of a preseason game.
Eagles lose to the Cincinnati Bengals: From the peculiar QB2 competition to Makai Lemon’s debut, five takeaways – PHLY
The next chapter in a peculiar QB2 battle. Full disclosure: I originally had written that Friday night was the final chapter in the Eagles’ awkward battle for the backup quarterback job, but the performances from both Tanner McKee and Andy Dalton left things all the more uncomfortably unsettled going into cut-down day Sunday evening. McKee looked like a shell of his former self in a half of preseason action against the Bengals defense, going 12-for-22 for 55 yards and one interception with a handful of errant passes. The outing served as a direct contrast from one of McKee’s brightest moments: Exactly 386 days prior when the 26-year-old went 2o-for25 for 252 yards and two touchdowns. The discussion after that game was whether a Day 2 pick would be enough for a quarterback-needy team to pry him away from the Eagles at some point, but now it’s hard to envision McKee garnering anything near that on the trade market. Dalton, who came in at the beginning of the second half after starting each of the previous two games, was slightly better. He went 12-for-19 for 104 yards and a touchdown, although it’s still hard to argue he clears the bar as the No. 2 quarterback for a team that has valued the role so highly for more than a decade. It’s also hard to know whether the Eagles can recoup draft assets for the 38-year-old in a trade between now and Sunday at 6 p.m., which beckons the question: If the Eagles can’t find a trade partner for Dalton or McKee, will general manager Howie Roseman be willing to keep four quarterbacks on the roster to regain leverage? And if not, which of the four will fall victim to the crowded room? Cole Payton has been encouraging enough this summer to argue he’s shown enough be on the initial roster, but it’s at least worth mentioning just how limited his exposure to the rest of the league has been in each of the last two preseason games as a somewhat-unfair byproduct of the quarterback competition lingering this long into the summer. The sixth-round rookie was utilized as a personal protector on the punt unit Friday night, but took his first snaps under center until after the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter. Could the Eagles been trying to hide him as a way to get him through waivers? It’s unlikely, but there’s no impossibilities in this summer’s strange quarterback carousel.
Eagles-Bengals preseason: Makai Lemon debuts, no clear victor in QB2 competition – The Athletic
The Eagles split reps between Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee throughout training camp practices and preseason games to determine their backup behind starting quarterback Jalen Hurts. Neither quarterback played well enough to be considered a clear winner. McKee started Friday night against the Bengals; he underwhelmed by completing 12 of 22 passes for 55 yards and an interception. He was also sacked twice. His passes seemed to have too much juice in the backfield, too little on deeper throws along the sideline, and he overthrew Britain Covey on a deep pass toward the end zone. Dalton led an 11-play, 76-yard touchdown drive against the third-team defense, but McKee had similar success against the bottom end of the depth chart last week. The Eagles are likely displeased with what the QB2 competition produced. It is also unclear what the Eagles will do. Coach Nick Sirianni said McKee needed extra reps to get more comfortable in a new system. Last year, McKee completed 20 of 25 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns in the preseason opener against the Bengals, and the coaching staff saw enough to sit him for the remaining two exhibitions. If the Eagles bet on the 26-year-old McKee’s potential over Dalton’s 16 years of experience, they will enter the 2026 season in the precarious position of knowing Jalen Hurts’ backup is not yet comfortable with this scheme.
Philadelphia Eagles 53-man roster prediction: Final edition – BGN
Now that the Philadelphia Eagles’ preseason schedule is over, the team’s focus shifts to cutting their roster down to the regular season 53-player limit before the 6:00 PM Eastern deadline on Sunday, August 30. Here’s our best effort at projecting what the INITIAL roster is going to look like. The Birds will likely make some tweaks (injured reserve placements, trades, waiver claims, etc.) before they actually play the Washington Commanders in Week 1. Note that this activity is about predicting what the Eagles WILL do as opposed to what we necessarily think they should do.
From benched, doubted and overlooked, to Super Bowl MVP – SB Nation
It’s easy to simply say Jalen Hurts stinks. Not like a smelly person or anything, but bad at football. Which is a bit of a lazy read. In recent years, he hasn’t exactly fit the mold of a traditional QB and could maybe fairly be called a tush-push merchant, but those labels massively overshadow one of the league’s more unique journeys.
2026 NFL Preseason, Week 3: What We Learned from Friday’s games – NFL.com
Lemon drop mars debut. First-round pick Makai Lemon saw his first preseason action after missing most of training camp with a hamstring injury. He was targeted right away by Tanner McKee, getting free on an out route for an easy 3-yard gain. A deep shot to Lemon two plays later was deflected by the defender. Then, on his fourth target, Lemon couldn’t corral a dart from McKee on a slant, the ball deflecting off his hands for an interception. After Lemon saw 17 offensive snaps (three catches on five targets for 3 yards), Philly oddly tossed him back out there for a third-quarter punt return. The former Trojan played half of snaps out wide and half in the slot, perhaps providing a glimpse at the versatility he’ll provide Jalen Hurts alongside DeVonta Smith in the starting offense. For a player who thrived in college at playing in the middle of the field, Lemon’s big drop and little gains were letdowns, but any action is better than no action.
Makai Lemon learns plenty from preseason debut – PhiladelphiaEagles.com
The Eagles wasted no time getting first-round pick Makai Lemon involved in his preseason debut Friday night against the Cincinnati Bengals at Lincoln Financial Field. Quarterback Tanner McKee executed a play-action rollout to his right, feeding the ball to the wide receiver for a short gain. It was the first of three catches on the night for Lemon, who missed time during Training Camp with a hamstring injury. Friday night provided some critical learning moments for the young player, who had a drop that resulted in an interception and a muffed punt return. “I’m glad it happened in the preseason, so come around September, those things won’t happen,” Lemon said after the game, not shying away from the fact that he expects better of himself. We’ve seen some good things throughout his practices where we’re feeling good about his development,” Head Coach Nick Sirianni said. “He’s got to continue to develop, young player, and we know we’re going to be able to count on him this year.”
Roob’s Observations: Dalton wins Round 3 over McKee in humdrum QB competition – NBCSP
I’ll say it again. I like that Zion Wilson, the undrafted rookie defensive tackle out of East Carolina. He’s one of the few guys on the third defense who looked good Friday night. Wilson is the kid who was turned down by the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility and signed with the Eagles a couple days after he lost his bid to spend the 2026 season at Virginia. Wilson showed up fairly consistently during training camp and he’s made plays in each of the last two games. He had four tackles, a tackle for loss, a quarterback hit and a hurry Friday night, and he’s another one who won’t make the 53 but has shown enough to earn a practice squad spot. Wilson was still in school during spring workouts, and he didn’t get to Philly until June, so he’s been making up for lost time and I could see the 6-foot-3, 315-pound Wilson playing on Sundays at some point.
Why more NFL teams than ever are using GoPros on their QBs – ESPN
The Commanders are one of six teams — along with the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots — that have equipped the tiny, mountable devices on their quarterbacks’ helmets this summer. The reasons vary: In some cases, it’s for the vision the camera provides, which helps coaches and players see each play from the quarterback’s vantage point. In others, the value is in giving coaches a peek into the communication taking place on the field, helping them get deeper insight into how QBs and other players — such as the center making protection calls — are communicating at the line and in the huddle. The cameras have even been experimented with on defense.
Final 53-man roster prediction after Cowboys’ preseason finale – Blogging The Boys
Quarterback (2). Dak Prescott, Joe Milton. Prescott is the unquestioned QB1 and a MVP candidate this year, and Milton will once again be his primary backup after outperforming [former Eagles quarterback] Sam Howell. Ideally Howell is traded, if not, hopefully clears waivers and re-signs to the practice squad.
Ravens 41, Commanders 3: Four takeaways from Washington preseason loss – Hogs Haven
It’s hard to say how much the preseason finale weighs in overall player evaluation as part of a far larger body of work. This contest was waged between those lower on the depth chart, with few earmarked for the 53-man roster available in this one. That still doesn’t excuse how bad the Commanders were in this contest. They couldn’t do anything right in this one and got dominated in all phases that didn’t involved Tress Way punting. I mean, it was awful. We still mined this contest for insight. Let’s examine (with a microscope) four takeaways relevant to the 2026 Commanders.
NY Giants trade for Baltimore Ravens’ DT to bolster run defense – Big Blue View
The New York Giants are trading for Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle C.J. Okoye, per a report from Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network. The Giants are sending a seventh-round pick to the Ravens. It was widely expected that the Giants would make moves to reinforce an interior defensive line that has been a weakness throughout the summer and preseason. It makes sense that their first move would be to acquire a player that not only has rare traits but is also familiar to John Harbaugh. Okoye played for John Harbaugh in 2025 with the Ravens after playing for Jim Harbaugh as an international pathway player (originally from Nigeria) for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023 and 2024. His experience with John Harbaugh isn’t Okoye’s only link to the Giants, and Okoye came into the International Pathway Program at the insistence of Giants’ great Osi Umenyiora.
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