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The Philadelphia Eagles will be without quarterback Jalen Hurts for Sunday’s game after an ultrasound discovered a superficial blood clot in his calf. The team has ruled him out while medical staff and outside doctors determine the next steps, promoting Tanner McKee to start with rookie Cole Payton as the backup.
How the injury surfaced
Philadelphia announced Thursday that Hurts sought treatment on Oct. 8 after being cleated in a game the previous Sunday. He practiced in full the following Friday and traveled with the team on Saturday, when an ultrasound detected a blood clot.
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Initially, team doctors and outside consultants recommended a second ultrasound within 72 hours and cleared Hurts to play pending those results. A follow-up scan showed the clot had shifted, and the club decided to keep him out as they “determine the appropriate course of treatment.”
Immediate roster response
With Hurts sidelined, the Eagles turned to veteran Tanner McKee as their starter for Sunday’s game. Rookie Cole Payton was elevated to the active roster as McKee’s primary backup.
Tanner McKee: experience on standby
McKee, 26, joined the Eagles after a three-year career at Stanford. He started 21 college games, throwing 28 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, and Philadelphia selected him in the sixth round (No. 188) of the 2023 NFL Draft.
He has spent the last three seasons in Philadelphia, moving between the No. 2 and No. 3 quarterback spots. McKee drew attention with strong preseason showings and was discussed in trade talks earlier this year, according to reporting cited by ESPN.
McKee’s most notable regular-season outing came in Week 18 of the 2024 season. Filling in while the team dealt with injuries, he completed 27 of 41 passes for 269 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers in a 20–13 win over the Giants, posting a passer rating of 100.6. He was also part of the Eagles’ Super Bowl roster that season, listed as the emergency third quarterback and inactive for the game.
Off the field, McKee is from Irvine, California, and attended Centennial High School in Corona. He spent two years on a mission in Brazil with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and became fluent in Portuguese during that time.
Cole Payton: the rookie lefty on deck
Payton arrives as a rookie from North Dakota State, where he spent five seasons (2021–2025) and was part of two FCS national-championship teams, primarily as a backup to Cam Miller.
He is a genuine dual threat. Over his college career he rushed for 1,919 yards and 31 rushing touchdowns, often used in Wildcat packages. As a redshirt senior in 2025, Payton completed 72% of his passes for 2,719 yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions, and added 777 rushing yards.
The Eagles selected Payton in the fifth round (No. 178) of the 2026 NFL Draft. He impressed enough during offseason work, training camp and the preseason to earn a spot on the initial 53-man roster. Payton appeared on the game-day roster in London last Sunday and is now the immediate backup while Hurts is out.
Payton is also one of a small group of left-handed starting quarterbacks in the league, alongside players such as Tua Tagovailoa, Michael Penix Jr., Dillon Gabriel and Hunter Dekkers.
