Most of the time, a trade for a backup quarterback wouldn't mean much a few months down the line. But the Cleveland Browns acquiring Kenny Pickett from the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason is far from your typical backup QB trade... and not just because Pickett was technically the Super Bowl-winning quarterback just a few months earlier (though he was). Instead, it's meaningful because Pickett might not even be a backup in Cleveland; he's out with an injury right now, but has a real chance to be the Browns signal-caller in Week 1.
It's also important because the Browns may not have even traded for the right Eagles backup quarterback. Tanner McKee, who will take over the Eagles No. 2 QB spot with Pickett out of the picture, was brilliant on Thursday night in the Eagles preseason Week 1 game against the Bengals. He went 20 for 25 with 252 yards and two touchdowns, one to rookie Darius Smith and one to tight end Ainias Smith.
Now, I don't want to put too much stock in the first preseason game of the season. But McKee was pretty dang good in his regular season action last year, too. He diced the Cowboys and then won his first start the next week against the Giants. So tonight's game feels far less like a fluke or a one-off, and more like another sign that McKee has turned into one of the best backups in the league... and maybe the one Cleveland should have targeted.
Kenny Pickett has experience, but McKee might have the upside
I understand why the Browns traded for Pickett. He's far more experienced than McKee and the Browns have seen him be at least playable throughout his career. But did they ever even consider McKee? Was it an option? It sure seems like Philadelphia likes him, but if the Browns made the return a little sweeter, would the Eagles really have fought that hard to keep him?
I don't know the answers to these questions! What I do know is that one of these teams just won a Super Bowl and one, after two decades of rebuilding, will either roll out a QB who might be able to perform at a league-average mark or a 65 year-old Joe Flacco.
Regardless, the Eagles' patience with McKee, who was a sixth round draft pick in 2023, seems to be paying off. He certainly doesn't look like a backup when he's on the field. Tonight, he looked a lot better than the Bengals' second-unit. That's how you wish your starters look. When the backups look this dominant... something is going right.
I'm sure things will be fine in Cleveland, though. (They won't be).