What happened to the Mormon Missile? I was watching that Philadelphia Eagles preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Friday night thinking about the good old times, reminiscing on what Tanner McKee used to look like, and all I could think was: what happened, man? He looked broken out there. Completely broken.

We look at the stat sheet from last night: 12-of-22, 55 yards, averaging 2.5 yards per pass, and an interception. The interception wasn’t entirely his fault, but still. That is an abysmal line for a guy the Eagles once believed could fetch a Day 2 pick in a trade. The Tanner McKee regression has been painful to watch this preseason, and it raises serious questions about Philadelphia’s quarterback depth behind Jalen Hurts heading into the 2026 season.

The value the Eagles let slip away

NFL analyst Chase Senior put it perfectly: The regression of Tanner McKee needs to be studied. Seth Joyner chimed in on the conversation too, and he didn’t hold back.

Chase, they tempted fate for too long! When he was most valuable, last offseason 2025, they should've moved him before or on draft day, and went back into the QB factory! He regressed last year, and his confidence is shattered! He's fallen from potential 2nd or 3rd round value,…

— Seth Joyner (@sethjoyner) August 29, 2026

That’s harsh, but Joyner is right. The Eagles dropped the ball on this one last offseason. Teams were willing to give up a Day 2 pick for McKee. He probably could have fetched a third-round selection, and now his value has cratered to the point where you can’t get anything meaningful in return. That’s the real problem here. Beyond McKee’s individual struggles, this situation is about the organizational miscalculation of holding onto a depreciating asset for too long.

The backup quarterback situation is a legitimate concern

Andy Dalton was asked if he would stay on the practice squad if he was relegated there, and his answer didn’t exactly inspire confidence. I mean, we’ll see. That’s a lot that’s going to be going on, so we’ll just kind of let it all play out.

Let’s be honest. Andy Dalton is not good at this stage of his career. He needs to retire. McKee does not look good at all. And Cole Payton is very young and just got drafted. So the Eagles are staring at a legitimate problem at the backup quarterback position, and it should concern every fan of this team.

Philadelphia has always valued the backup quarterback spot. We know what this position means to the organization. If Jalen Hurts, God forbid, goes down with an injury, who do you throw in the game right now? Because McKee is not ready. He’s not understanding this offense. He’s not the same guy. He’s air mailing throws in the flat. Little simple crosser outs, he’s throwing them at the guy’s feet. The basic stuff is not there, and that’s what makes this so alarming.

Two explanations, and neither is great

There are only two viable answers to explain what we’re seeing from McKee right now. Number one, he was never actually that good, and this preseason exposed the truth. Maybe he fooled us all with a small sample size and some flashes that never amounted to real, consistent ability. Or number two, Kevin Patullo ruined him. The former offensive coordinator’s system, his coaching, whatever was going on behind the scenes under that staff, it broke McKee’s confidence and development to the point where the guy we’re watching now barely resembles the quarterback the Eagles thought they had.

I like Tanner McKee. He’s a good dude. He’s technically a champion. But liking the guy doesn’t change what we’re seeing on the field. The Eagles need to figure out their backup quarterback situation before the regular season, because right now, there is no safety net behind Hurts.