Eagles to start Joe Milton at quarterback vs. Giants, replacing Tanner McKee

Milton will replace Tanner McKee and become Philadelphia's third starting quarterback of the season when the Eagles face the NFC East-leading Giants

Nov 4, 2026 at 2:41 pm ET • 2 min read

The Philadelphia Eagles are entrusting a former Dallas Cowboy to be their new starting quarterback. Joe Milton will be the team's starting quarterback in Week 9 against the NFC East-leading New York Giants, per ESPN. 

Milton will be the third Eagles starting quarterback this season after Jalen Hurts went on injured reserve and backup Tanner McKee lost all three of his starts. The Eagles scooped him up off of the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad on Oct. 16, a day before Hurts went on IR. 

"I think he's worked really hard," Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said Wednesday morning, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. "Him and [quarterbacks coach] Parks [Frazier] 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 in the building, doing the extra things. I like his progression."  

Milton could bring the deep ball back to the Eagles' offense. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer has compared Milton's arm strength to that of Brett Favre. However, Schottenheimer also expressed reservations about Milton's game, particularly his accuracy and touch. That's why Sam Howell won the Dallas backup job, leaving Milton as Dallas' No. 3 quarterback on the practice squad and up for grabs for Philadelphia to scoop him up. The Cowboys originally acquired Milton, a 2024 sixth-round pick, in April of 2025 in a trade with the New England Patriots, and he served as Dak Prescott's backup in 2025. 

This preseason, Milton showed significant strides in both areas when the lights came on in Dallas' three exhibition games: he completed 29 of his 43 passes (67.4%) for 378 yards, three passing touchdowns and no interceptions for a 118.2 passer rating.

"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," Schottenheimer said in camp. "I think we've talked a lot in here about the touch and how he's developed the touch. I do know that he did a much better job with our system. This is what guys that come from that spread system [in college] have to deal with in terms of the learning curve of coming in and having to learn how to huddle, call a play in the huddle and make different decisions. ... I think about that. ... So again, I think Joe's going to be a terrific player in this league. I'm not going to say in what regard, but like I said, it was a very tough decision."