Joe Milton III Announced As Eagles’ Starting Quarterback For Week 9

by Arop KualNovember 5, 2026, 5:58 pm >

The Philadelphia Eagles have announced that Joe Milton III will be the team’s new starting quarterback for Week 9 against the New York Giants.

Milton will overtake Tanner McKee, who was the backup quarterback before starter Jalen Hurts was placed on IR for blood clots.

McKee has started three games since Hurts was placed on IR, and the team went 0-3, extending their losing streak.

This season, McKee has thrown for 638 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. In the team’s Week 8 loss against the Washington Commanders, he completed 23 of 32 passes for 212 yards.

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Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said at a news conference on Monday that he would not bench McKee for the remainder of the season.

“Tanner’s our guy. We’re not making any changes there,” Sirianni said. “Again, how do we find solutions? That could be within scheme, that could be within how our schedule is, practice plays. Everything’s on the table for us in that aspect. But right now, this is where we are and we’re trying to find solutions there. We’re looking at everything as far as what we can do differently as coaches.”

Milton started the season on the Cowboys’ practice squad after losing a quarterback battle in training camp. The Eagles picked Milton up from the Cowboys’ practice squad on Oct.16. Throughout his career, Milton has not started an NFL game. His best game in the NFL came in a Week 18 game for the New England Patriots in 2024; he completed 22 of 29 passes for 241 yards.

This season, the Eagles’ offense has not looked their best. Under new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, training camp raised hopes that this squad could revive the glory of their past offenses. So far, the offense has struggled and hasn’t shown any signs of consistency.

The main factor behind the Eagles’ struggles is injuries to key players. Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith missing games due to injury left the offense without their top running back and receiver. Along with the retirement of right tackle Lane Johnson and the trade of Cam Jurgens, this created many holes in their offensive unit.

Philadelphia’s offense ranks last in yards per game (265.3) and yards per play (4.4) and is 30th in scoring with 17.1 points per game.