Rain in the Philadelphia area a possibility for Eagles game Thursday | NEXT Weather
Rain in the Philadelphia area a possibility for Eagles game Thursday | NEXT Weather 03:52
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee is out for Thursday night's season opener against the Dallas Cowboys with a right thumb injury, which means Sam Howell will be the backup for Jalen Hurts in Week 1 at Lincoln Financial Field.
McKee missed practice all week before the NFC East clash against Dallas. The injury forced McKee, who has developed into one of the better backup quarterbacks in the league over the last year, to miss the final two weeks of the preseason.
The Eagles acquired Howell in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings at the end of August to add depth at the backup quarterback position. The Birds sent a 2026 fifth-round pick and 2027 seventh-rounder to Minnesota for Howell and a 2027 sixth-rounder.
Howell spent the 2024 season with the Seattle Seahawks as the backup to Geno Smith. He was with the Washington Commanders in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, where he faced the Eagles twice in the latter season.
Sixth-round rookie quarterback Kyle McCord, who struggled in the preseason, will need to be activated off the practice squad to dress as the team's third quarterback.
Eagles Pro Bowl left guard Landon Dickerson is set to play against the Cowboys after missing practice Monday with a back injury. Dickerson was a full participant in practice Tuesday and in Wednesday's walkthrough. Dickerson underwent surgery on a meniscus injury during training camp, but that wasn't listed on this week's injury report.
Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jalen Carter (shoulder), rookie safety Andrew Mukuba (hamstring) and outside linebacker Josh Uche (groin) were all full participants in Wednesday's walkthrough and set to play as well.
Tom Ignudo
Tom Ignudo is a digital content producer at CBS Philadelphia. Before he joined CBS Philadelphia in 2021, Tom covered high school and college sports for the Philadelphia Inquirer. He covers breaking news, sports and more.