Eagles name Joe Milton starting quarterback for Week 9 against Giants

The Eagles are making a change at quarterback, turning to Joe Milton over Tanner McKee to start against the New York Giants on Sunday, a team source confirmed to The Inquirer on Wednesday.

ESPN first reported the news of Milton’s promotion and McKee’s benching.

Milton is set to make his first NFL start with a team he has been with for less than a month. The Eagles signed Milton off of the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad on Oct. 16, after they had placed Jalen Hurts on injured reserve due to blood clots in his lungs.

Nick Sirianni spoke about Milton and his acclimation to the offense at his Wednesday news conference about two hours before the news broke.

“I think he’s worked really hard,” Sirianni said. “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.”

Dallas Goedert said the Eagles found out that Milton would be the starter this week in a team meeting on Wednesday. The Eagles tight end added that they had hoped to keep it under wraps as a “competitive advantage” over the Giants, but the news got out anyway.

Milton, 26, has been heralded for his mobility and his strong arm. Goedert said he throws it hard, but it’s a “really catchable ball.”

“It’s kind of perfect for a pass catcher,” Goedert said. “The balls that are in the air for a long time, when you can think, those ones are the scary ones. The ones that get on you and you just have to catch it, those are the easy ones. So it seems like he’s been putting the ball in a good spot, and I’m excited to see what he does on Sunday.”

Goedert also said that he felt for McKee, who didn’t play “terrible” in his three starts, but he acknowledged the offense is looking for a spark. He also said Milton gives the Eagles a better chance to play a second play given his mobility.

“If he gets pressure, he can roll out and keep the play alive,” Goedert said.

Conceding pressure has been an issue for the Eagles’ protection unit this season. The team ranks fourth in the league in quarterback pressure rate allowed at 42.6%, according to Next Gen Stats. They’ve particularly struggled with allowing free runners, leading the league with an 18.2% unblocked pressure rate through Nov. 1, per NFL analyst Ryan Paganetti.

Jordan Mailata was less concerned about the Eagles’ starting quarterback this week and more fixated on cleaning up the communication issues at the line of scrimmage in practice on Wednesday that have plagued them this season.

“Urgency,” Mailata said. “Giving as much time for Joe to get through the motions, switching backs, flipping backs, whatever it is, that was a big emphasis coming off this game was our urgency in the huddle, and we worked on that today.”

Philadelphia is Milton’s third NFL stop, as he began his career with the New England Patriots in 2024 as a sixth-round draft choice out of Tennessee, then joined the Cowboys via trade in April 2025. Milton started his college career at Michigan, where he was recruited and coached by Jim Harbaugh, brother of Giants head coach John Harbaugh.

Milton has played in five games during his NFL career, but he has not started. In those five games, Milton completed 37 passes on 53 attempts (69.8%) for 424 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. He also had 15 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown.

His most extensive action came in 2024 during the Patriots’ Week 18 game against the Buffalo Bills. He helped them to a 23-16 win, going 22-for-29 for 241 yards and a touchdown. He added a touchdown and 16 rushing yards on 10 carries. Milton also had a fumble.

Milton will be the fourth player to appear at quarterback in a game for the Eagles this season. Hurts started the first five games of the year before Tanner McKee took over for him for the next three. Andy Dalton, who won the backup job out of training camp, attempted one pass in place of Hurts during the Eagles’ Week 3 loss to the Chicago Bears and was promptly picked off. Dalton was released a week and a half later.

Fifth-round rookie quarterback Cole Payton has also appeared for the Eagles as a member of the special teams.

Staff writer Jeff McLane contributed to this report.