Nick Sirianni made a calculated decision when he told reporters he would stick with Tanner McKee as his starting quarterback, only to change to Joe Milton later in the week.
“I’m gonna tell you what I want to tell you guys,” Sirianni explained to reporters Friday. “I was gonna hold onto that as long as I possibly could. Every second that goes by in a situation like that…is a little less time for the opponent to get ready for the game.
“My job is to win football games and do everything we can do to help win football games and protect the guys here.”
Sirianni called McKee “our guy” on Monday, shortly before reports surfaced that the Eagles would bench him and start Milton, whom the Eagles signed in October from the Cowboys’ practice squad.
McKee found out about his benching when Sirianni called him on Tuesday.
“That’s one thing I appreciate about [the team],” McKee said Thursday. “They’ve been very upfront about things. I know what he said in the media on Monday, the day before. But he said he wanted to communicate to the guys before he says anything to the media. He doesn’t want us finding out in the media, which I appreciate.”
McKee started the Eagles’ last three games after Jalen Hurts’ season came to an end due to blood clots. The Eagles went 0-3 in McKee’s starts, including divisional losses to the Cowboys and Commanders. McKee completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 638 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions with a passer rating of 76.6 across those three games.
The Eagles drafted McKee out of Stanford in the 2023 draft, setting him up to be their backup to Hurts.
