The Eagles' backup quarterback position is in flux as September approaches, with Tanner McKee on the shelf, at least temporarily with a fracture at the top of his thumb.
The team traded for former fifth-round pick Sam Howell, who was on the outs in Minnesota and replaced by old friend Carson Wentz. Howell looks like he'll be the No. 2 briefly, until McKee is back, and then will be the No. 3 going forward. The team recently released their own late round draft pick Kyle McCord (who could return to the practice squad if he goes unclaimed).
It's a bit of a scary situation. McKee was arguably the winner of training camp as he emerged as one of the best backup quarterbacks in the league by stacking impressive practices and a dominating performance against the Bengals in the preseason. He knows the offense.
Howell will have a few weeks under his belt in South Philly but will truly be behind the curve if he's forced into meaningful action. Still, the Eagles were more comfortable will Howell than throwing the rookie McCord in there.
The longer the injury lingers for McKee the more they will lack their true No. 2. And as Philly fans know, backup quarterback is a very important position.
How long will it take for McKee's throwing thumb to heal? We chatted with Dr. Dinesh Dhanaraj, the Attending Orthopedic Surgeon at St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne.
(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and guest authors and do not reflect any official policy or position of any NFL team or a team's athletic physicians.)
He told us that the injury is, indeed, a minor one, and pain tolerance is the major issue.
"The tip of the thumb, a Tuft fracture, it's really well tolerated," Dhanaraj said. "It doesn't have a big ligament complex, it's not something truly unstable. It's the equivalent of when someone has their fingers slammed in car door, if it can be wrapped and protected, it's a pain threshold on how to grip that ball on while that little crack heals. The bone splinters, but usually heals fine without surgery."
McKee will have had just over two weeks to rest the hand before Week 1, and reports are murky on whether he'll be ready. Frankly, there's no way to tell. However he is not expected to go onto IR, which means the team expects him back before the Eagles play their fourth game of the season.
"We would splint it for 7-to-10 days for comfort and then there's no reason you can't really get it moving," the doctor told PhillyVoice. "It's not something you need a cast or a pin to do surgery on."
The roster is still taking shape and will continue to be tinkered with until kickoff against the Cowboys on Sept. 4 at the Linc. But regardless of who is backing up Jalen Hurts, the best-case scenario is one that makes the backup QB irrelevant.
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