Howie Roseman explains why he kept 4 QBs on Eagles roster

Eagles GM Howie Roseman on Monday afternoon explained why the Eagles kept all four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster.

By Dave Zangaro • Published August 31, 2026

The Eagles trimmed their roster to 53 players on Sunday and one of the biggest decisions came at quarterback.

They kept all four.

Jalen Hurts, Andy Dalton, Tanner McKee and Cole Payton are all on their initial roster.

"The most important position in sports,” Eagles GM Roseman said on Monday afternoon. "I feel like all those guys have value for our team. Obviously, some is short-term value, some is long-term value when you think about Cole. As we went through the process here, just thought it was the right thing to do for our football team.”

The Eagles invested a fifth-round pick on Payton when they drafted him out of North Dakota State and want to develop him. So it seems like the Eagles are viewing this as their three quarterbacks for the 2026 season, plus a developmental player in Payton.

Is there a chance the Eagles could still trade either Dalton or McKee? Sure, it’s still possible. But there’s also a chance they go into the regular season with all four quarterbacks.

And they were not the only team to keep four QBs on the roster at final cuts.

"It's just such a valuable position,” Roseman said. "From our perspective, last year, obviously we took someone in the [sixth] round (Kyle McCord), let him go. He left our practice squad to go somewhere else, traded for a sixth-round pick. These guys are valuable. They take time to develop at the same time.

"That position is so valuable to this organization over a long period of time. Want to be strong there and think both those guys behind Jalen have value, have shown that over the course of their careers. We kind of take all the information at our disposal to make all these decisions.”

It seems like the Eagles didn’t want to miss an opportunity to develop Payton after McCord decided to sign with the Packers in January following his rookie season on the Eagles’ practice squad. The Packers just traded McCord to the Dolphins for a future sixth-round pick; McCord is now the backup in Miami.

All summer, there has been a competition between Dalton and McKee to be the backup quarterback behind Hurts.

If the Eagles have made a decision already, Roseman wasn’t ready to spill.

"Anything that goes into preparations for Washington, we're going to keep close to the vest,” Roseman said. "Certainly that's part of it, the strategy for when we play Washington.”

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Howie Roseman explains why he kept 4 QBs on Eagles roster

Eagles GM Howie Roseman on Monday afternoon explained why the Eagles kept all four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster.

There’s not much "value” at the position if said QBs all…….Stink.

He may only be a back up QB. He may not even be QB #2. And it probably doesn’t warrant the amount of time and ire directed his way. But man Dalton STINKS. I have no idea why he’s on the 53. Nobody was going to claim him and as a vet he wouldn’t have been subject to waivers would he? He shouldn’t be on the roster and he’s only there because Howie wants to justify the trade. There’s no value that he brings and no team is trading for him.

3 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

He may only be a back up QB. He may not even be QB #2. And it probably doesn’t warrant the amount of time and ire directed his way. But man Dalton STINKS. I have no idea why he’s on the 53. Nobody was going to claim him and as a vet he wouldn’t have been subject to waivers would he? He shouldn’t be on the roster and he’s only there because Howie wants to justify the trade. There’s no value that he brings and no team is trading for him.

Have to think Howie is still trying to deal McKee. If that did happen Howie always wants an experienced vet as QB2 so that would default to Dalton. But I don't think Howie is going to find a suitor for McKee now after roster cuts and teams have signed players off the waiver wire that they want. So this seems like a pointless effort.

If Howie can't deal McKee as expected, I think Dalton will be released. Can't see us carrying 4 QBs all year.

Dalton can’t play anymore, and the Rookie isn’t going to play at all. So, in reality, they only have 1.5 QBs on the Roster.

Howie swung and missed on this situation (amongst a couple of others) this offseason.

Ok I’m about done talking Eagles QBs. 😊🏄

On 9/2/2026 at 2:47 PM, time2rock said:

If that did happen Howie always wants an experienced vet as QB2 so that would default to Dalton.

That may well be his plan. In fact that sounds like a Howie type process given McKee might fetch a better trade price. But if his plan is to have Dalton as the back up then we are done. The guy stinks.

i thought Tanner McKee would develop into a really good QB2 and maybe become a valuable trade piece. Instead he's playing like Tanner McMeltdown. Oh and I saw a report that Dalton has apparently won the QB2 job.

On 9/13/2026 at 4:14 PM, PoconoDon said:

i thought Tanner McKee would develop into a really good QB2 and maybe become a valuable trade piece. Instead he's playing like Tanner McMeltdown. Oh and I saw a report that Dalton has apparently won the QB2 job.

He probably did become somewhat of a valuable trade piece at one point (about 18 months ago). Maybe not as valuable as some here seemed to think (a 1st or high 2nd), but perhaps a late day 2 pick or combo of mid round picks. Howie overvalued his worth and the gamble backfired. He has learned a lot over the years of certain aspects of being a good GM ... he obviously still has other areas he needs to grow and learn in.

The season is only one game in.....and the trade deadline is November 10th........3 QBs got hurt this past week and will miss a few games.....there's goin to be more QBs getting hurt and some teams may see Dalton or McKee as a short term fix......which usually mean a late round pick, especially with them being free agents at the end of the year.

Howie uses those late round picks as sweeteners in draft day move up trades.....I think Roseman has 9 picks in the 2027 draft plus the 1st rounder in 2028 from the Patriots. So he already has a load of ammunition to make some big moves, but adding another 4th, 5th or 6th could come in handy.

14 hours ago, birdman#12 said:

The season is only one game in.....and the trade deadline is November 10th........3 QBs got hurt this past week and will miss a few games.....there's goin to be more QBs getting hurt and some teams may see Dalton or McKee as a short term fix......which usually mean a late round pick, especially with them being free agents at the end of the year.

Howie uses those late round picks as sweeteners in draft day move up trades.....I think Roseman has 9 picks in the 2027 draft plus the 1st rounder in 2028 from the Patriots. So he already has a load of ammunition to make some big moves, but adding another 4th, 5th or 6th could come in handy.

We currently sit with 7 (and a comp pick projected to be added), so 8 total.

Dalton is going somewhere by week 3..Tanner will drop back into our # 2 , he should still be #2 even with Dalton here.

1 hour ago, Breeze 44 said:

Dalton is going somewhere by week 3..Tanner will drop back into our # 2 , he should still be #2 even with Dalton here.

Dalton is #2 for a reason ...

... because he plays like it!!