The Philadelphia Eagles will start Joe Milton at quarterback Sunday against the New York Giants, their third starter of the season after Tanner McKee went 0-3, completing 63.2 percent of his passes for 638 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions across three straight defeats. The move, reported by ESPN and NFL Network, comes as Philadelphia sits at 2-6, last in the NFC East, on a six-game losing streak.
The decision reverses coach Nick Sirianni, who said Monday: Tanner’s our guy,
adding, We’re not making any changes there.
By Wednesday, the Eagles had benched McKee and named Milton, a change first reported by ESPN and confirmed across Philadelphia outlets.
Twenty-three Days From Practice Squad to Starter
The Eagles signed Milton off the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad on Oct. 16, one day before they placed Jalen Hurts on injured reserve after doctors found blood clots in both of his lungs; Hurts is expected to miss the rest of the season. Milton, 26, was a sixth-round pick by the New England Patriots in the 2024 draft and was traded to Dallas in April 2025. He appeared in four games for the Cowboys in 2025, completing 15 of 24 passes for 183 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, and lost a training-camp competition for the backup job to Sam Howell before Dallas returned him to the practice squad.
Nick Sirianni on Joe Milton earlier today: "I think he’s worked really hard. Him and Parks have spent a ton of time together, getting him caught up to speed. I know the developmental periods, those always help to be able to run our plays. But he works extremely hard. He is always…
He has never started an NFL game.
His only extended action came in Week 18 of the 2024 season, when he completed 22 of 29 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown against Buffalo. Per NBC Sports Philadelphia, Milton will be the first Eagles quarterback to start after joining the team post-opening day in 33 years, topping Ken O’Brien’s 27 days in 1993 — and he will do it 23 days after Philadelphia acquired him.
Giants QB JJ McCarthy vs. Eagles QB Joe Milton on Sunday. Those two have been with their current teams for a combined 56 days. And they'll start against each other four days from now in a key NFC East game.
McCarthy vs. Milton, Former Michigan Teammates
Milton will face Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy, whom New York acquired from the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 28 in exchange for a fifth-round pick. The two were briefly teammates at Michigan in the spring of 2021 before Milton transferred to Tennessee. The Giants, at 4-2-1 and atop the NFC East, are coming off McCarthy’s first start, a win over Houston. Giants coach John Harbaugh downplayed the quarterback switch: Word travels fast,
he said, adding, It’s not so different than the previous quarterback they had.
New York’s defense blitzed on 22.1 percent of opponents’ dropbacks in the first three games and 51.4 percent of the time over the past four, second in the NFL behind the Vikings, according to the Trentonian.
Sirianni’s Case for Milton
Sirianni pointed to Milton’s work habits on Wednesday. I think he’s worked really hard,
he said, noting that Milton and quarterbacks coach Parks Frazier have spent extra time getting him caught up and that he is always in the building. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer, who watched Milton in Dallas, offered the evaluation the Eagles are betting on: I’m going to say that the upside, I’m not going to say you put him into a box of what he could be, but the arm talent’s real,
he said, per CBS Sports. Milton, asked Thursday how much of the playbook he knows, laughed: Shoot, whatever’s in this week.
He described his approach as just pretty much going through the plays, going through the week like I was a starter, or like I was playing, and just being ready,
adding, And that’s what the NFL is about: Just being ready when your name is called, and just preparing for those moments.
A Short-Handed Audition in Philadelphia
A Giants win Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field — 1 p.m. kickoff — would tighten New York’s grip on the division against the last-place Eagles, who then have their bye week. The Eagles’ injury report listed running back Saquon Barkley and both starting wide receivers, DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks, as non-participants Wednesday, while Hurts sat in on team meetings at the facility. Whether Milton can beat the treatment New York has planned for him is the question Philadelphia has not answered.
Joe Milton will be airing it out for the @Eagles on Sunday 🦅 NYGvsPHI – Sunday 1:00pm ET on FOX/FOX One Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/xdvm1cLCfZ
More on Joe Milton
Eagles name Joe Milton as starting QB in Week 9 vs. Giants. (via @AdamSchefter + @MikeGarafolo) pic.twitter.com/TNSE94r4v5
Joe Milton to start on Sunday vs. Giants, Tanner McKee benched, per ESPN report Some thoughts: ** Kind of a shocking move for a team that has had such issues with continuity. Tanner McKee was far from great but making a switch after three starts is a bit surprising. This down… pic.twitter.com/iXBAHMpXd1
Worth a look
