PHLY Philadelphia Eagles Podcast - Emergency Pod: Eagles trade for QB Sam Howell

Episode Date: August 24, 2025

Remember Sam Howell from that awesome game he played against the Eagles two years ago? Well now he's an Eagle, as Howie Roseman fortified the QB room by trading multiple draft picks for Howell as Tanner McKee deals with a hurt finger and Kyle McCord's lackluster preseason finale left the Eagles wanting a more ready-made player at the position. Fran Duffy, EJ Smith and Bo Wulf react to the move. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello, everybody. And welcome to an emergency P.H.L.Y. Eagles podcast from the Xfinity Mobile Studios, presented by Xfinity, DoDat Dental and True Mark Financial Credit Union. Bo Wolf and E.J. Smith. And E.J., we've got to trade, a quarterback trade. What have the Eagles done? The Eagles have traded for Sam Howell, who was with the Vikings. They are sending Minnesota a fifth round pick in 2026 and a seventh round pick in 27 in exchange for Sam Howell and a six-round pick in

26. I will not pretend to be the draft compensation formula man, but my very crude math, as we have talked about as my math and my spreadsheets, can be crude at times. I have this mostly like, it seemed like it was about the value of a six-round pick in exchange for Sam Howe. Okay. And it's conditional, I believe. So we will see how this goes. It is very funny that the backfill for the Vikings now is Carson Wentz. They're replacing Sam Howell with Carson Wentz.

So we appreciate that poetry here. But my question for you, E.J., is do you believe that this is a move the egos are making because of how they feel about Kyle McCord? Or is it a move they're making because of how they feel about Tanner McKee's injury? I feel like it's a both end, as Nick Siriani would say here. I feel like, I mean, I talked about this at MetLife Stadium and I wrote about it, the daunting proposition of Kyle McCord being your backup quarterback going into week one. And we can have a discussion about how Kyle McCord looked this summer. But I do think in general, you know, you wouldn't have felt good if Tanner McKee, you know, he's dealing with a finger injury, barely moved his throwing hand at all during Friday's game. If Tanner McKee is sidelined at the beginning of the season, you don't want Kyle McCord to be the next guy up if Jalen Hertz were to go down. So I think that, you know, again, shoring up that position in the short term made a lot of sense. And also, I think that this just does raise the floor for that third quarterback spot, even if Tanner McKee is healthy for week one. I think that Sam Hal, obviously somebody who has started games in the NFL, you know, I think he's kind of exactly what you look for in a backup quarterback.

He's not amazing. You know, it's not like he has been, you know, it's not like he's lit the world on fire, but he has starting experience and he has played a few good games. You know, you could theoretically see him being a competent quarterback in a. a pinch if you needed. So I think that this probably speaks a little bit more to Tanner McKee and maybe the status of him at the beginning of the season. But I think in general, Kyle McCord's summer performance informs the fact that the Eagles kind of did need to make a move here as we approach Cutdown Day. Can you explain what that was like at the game on Friday night? It seems like all of the reporters were just going binoculars on Tanner McKee's fingers?

Well, I mean, I feel like, listen, he didn't. doing so many favors. He's got it in the hoodie pocket most of the time. He's definitely hiding it. So, uh, you know, curious minds as somebody's just like hiding something from you, of course you're going to go, well, wait a minute. What's going on there? So I'll be honest, I didn't do much in game watching of the finger, but, uh, he walked by a crowd of reporters after the game. Um, you know, we were waiting to get into the locker room. He was getting some, I think it was mission barbecue catering on the way to the charter bus. And he was using his left hand exclusively and had his right hand in his hoodie pocket. And again, that was where it's like, okay, he really doesn't want us to see

what's going on with that thing. So, yeah, and, you know, Nick Siriani was pretty noncommittal, as he usually is when discussing injuries, when asked if Terry McKee would be ready for week one. There was no doubt here that the Sam Howell's history against the Eagles, I think it pushes this over the edge for the Eagles. I mean, he played very well in those two games in 2022. I think they were by the numbers like two of the best four games he played that season when he started 17 games. And it is funny to think back to that game at the link when Ron Rivera doesn't go for two when they score a touchdown on the very last play of the game to tie it, which we were making fun of at the time. But that was a pass from Sam Howell to Jahan Dotson. And now they're both Eagles.

E.J., over the past five seasons, here's a little data gerrymandering for you. over the past five seasons among quarterbacks who have started at least two games against the Eagles and thrown at least 90 passes so they weren't just Dickin and Duncan. Sam Howell ranks tied for second in EPA per dropback against the Eagles behind only Aaron Rogers. Oh, I'm at Prescott. It's funny you say this because like when my first instinct when I saw the trade is like, you know, Sam Howell like he's pretty good. You know, I've seen him play some pretty good football. And then, you know, you zoom out and you think, okay, I didn't really see him play well against any other teams. And then I've got, um, his 22, 20, 23 staff.

Maybe it was just that the Eagles defense was bad. Well, listen, you know, that, I mean, this is, again, maybe, maybe the window that they see this guy in. Maybe, maybe they feel like they've got the secret on Sam, now that they've seen his best, his best work. I have his 223 numbers up in front of me here. And it's, it's funny because he ranks, I think he was, he's top 10 and yards, the actual yards thrown. You know, he had, you get into. Yeah, well, I mean, he threw for almost 4,000 yards, 3,900, 3,946 yards. But then you start to look at the other numbers and it's like, okay, 21 touchdown passes, 21 interceptions.

And then here's the one I enjoy, Bo. He ranked the dead last among qualifying quarterbacks in 2023, an EPA per dropback. The player that he, that just barely was the beneficiary of Sam Hal being that inefficient is Kenny Pickett. I think it. Yes. So this does definitely feel like a same, same type of situation here. But no, I still think it is, it makes sense. Like I think it's good to temper the expectations about, you know, Sam Hal, like, again,

maybe Eagles fans are like me and their first instinct was like, I was seeing this guy play pretty good football. I think he is a solid third quarterback option. And, you know, in a pinch, he could be your backup. Again, I could see him having a good game. Like, he's kind of the guy who could get on a heater. But I don't think necessarily he is. like, you know, the Tanner McKee, you know, contingency plan necessarily, just because I don't think

that, I don't know, there are levels here, I guess is the most important thing to say. You don't think that this is the precursor to trading Tanner McKee for a first round pick to somebody. I don't. I feel like if that were on the table, they probably would have had their site set a little bit higher for that backup quarterback spot. But again, I feel like we spent so much time this summer talking about the third quarterback spot and you know the sort of the push pull of like wanting a developmental player there

versus like being in a championship window and needing to feel good about it I think that Sam Hal kind of splits the difference really well in that regard the only thing I would say is that he is he is set to be an unrestricted free agent next off season so it's not like they've got the rookie deal for a few seasons and I mean you can correct me if I'm wrong here I don't think there's really a world not a world where the Eagles are going to want where he is going to factor into the compic formula. Correct. He would have to like, I think that's the tell.

I think that's the tell here is that this is the final year of his rookie deal. This is not about a long-term developmental third quarterback. This, this to me is about concern over the McKee injury and having a ready-made player who, in an emergency situation, can at least throw the ball 20 yards down field. Yeah. And I think that that makes a lot of sense. I think if Kyle McCord had looked slightly better this summer, you could have talked to me into the value of having him as a developmental quarterback, third quarterback. Like, and obviously we're going to go into cut down day.

You know, the Browns are talking about having four quarterbacks on the roster, but I do not foresee that. I think that Kyle McCourt is probably headed to the practice squad at this point. You know, the Eagles will expose him to waivers and we'll see what happens there. But I don't think that he'd necessarily warranted confidence in that third quarterback spot or, you know, the risk that you take on to keep him on the roster. as a developmental player, I just don't think he warranted that. You know, it's funny, like, obviously, you know, I've gotten a lot of flack for the Dorian Thompson-Robinson has been having a better summer than Kyle McCord. You know what?

Like, you know, in reflection at this point, I feel like this is, this probably was saying more about Kyle McCord than Dorian-Thompson Robinson and just my skepticism that I think has been borne out, you know? So I think I'm going to just give myself a W on this. This is a pro move to reframe this. I will not let you, I will not let you free of this. You will always be chained to Dorian Thompson Robinson. But I appreciate the effort here.

This is a good attempt. You say one thing on your first week of podcasting and now, like, marked forever as the Dorian Thompson Robinson apologists. But no, I do. I think that that that really was. I mean, again, I wrote about it. It was the thing I was thinking about on my drive home from MetLife Stadium is like, what are the Eagles going to do at quarterback? I honestly thought Kenny Pickett made a lot of sense.

You know, it would have probably had to have been a trade similar to this one, because of the fact that he would have been exposed to waivers if the Browns do decide to cut him. But I don't know. I think that there's pros and cons on both sides, like the Kenny Pickett versus Sam Howell thing. I think, you know, I think Sam Howell, he's played probably a better stretch of football. You know, I know that the EPA per dropback would slightly favor Kenny Pickett. But I just generally think watching those two, I feel a little bit better with Sam Howe as the concept of your backup. There have been games when Sam Howell, like the offense was, was about Sam Halwell passing the ball.

Like, when Kenny Pickett had his stretches of quote unquote success, those were not passing offenses. Right. Now, the downside is that Sam Howell does not have familiarity with the scheme. You know, obviously Kenny Pickett was here last season. There are lots of elements of the scheme that are similar from last season. So it is like still. That you need to know, Sam. Okay.

I'll get you ready. Okay. Hand the ball off to Saquan. throw it to AJ Brown and play it out to AJ Brad and do not do anything else. Yeah, but still, I think like the operational side of things, it'll be interesting. It's still not like an amazing situation that you go into in week one if Tanner McKee is not available. Like it's still like you definitely don't want to see Sam Howell in the first quarter against the Cowboys. I agree.

All right. We can start to wrap this up there. We have another small piece of Eagles news here. And I got to say this falls, this is a. an arrow at the self-proclaimed King of the Beats, but truly actually just the reigning contest winner, because you are in charge of the 53-man contest. And you set the deadline for Sunday at midnight. That's too late, man.

It's too late when they play a game on Friday. They're going to start making moves. And now we see that they have started making moves, reportedly releasing Lewis Seen at safety. There might have been a reporter who was going to have Lewis Seen on their 53 after that game, and you have given them an out. Well, I've gotten most of them already because, listen, like, you know, most of people are respectful and they get them in on time. I'm not saying that everyone has done that because there are some people who I haven't gotten 53 yet from. But here's what I'm going to tell you.

Here's what you need to know about me, Jake. You give me a deadline. I am taking that until the last minute of the deadline. Yeah. No matter what it is we're talking about. As you've learned about me, I am also that way. I will take every minute I get. Here's the thing. And I think this has become clear for the entire, for the duration of us working together and really probably as long as you've known me. I don't, I, at least I got recommended what time to do this and I didn't think twice about it. I listened to somebody else and was like, great, you think Sunday at midnight works, Sunday at midnight works. So maybe this was Jimmy Kemsky trying to get a little bit of an edge, you know, maybe trying to, you know, protect himself from the Lewis scene, uh, rostering decision

that he may have made or maybe, I don't think Jimmy was going to have a Lewis scene on his roster. But I did not, I mean, it was not my choice. I took somebody else's recommendation and ran with it. Okay. What time would you have done? 6 o'clock? I think Saturday of midnight. Oh, that's no, because I wouldn't have wanted to do it on Saturday.

Come on. It's one of the last weekends the beat reporters are going to have to how them, I mean, we're working now. Yeah. I think my argument for it is like the moves that are happening today, like, again, no offense to Lewis scene. Not necessarily. Not necessarily. We don't know who else.

We'll see. We'll see. Yeah. Okay. All right. That'll do it for this emergency podcast. Thank you to Xfinity, do that dental,

and true mark financial credit union. We will be back tomorrow at 2 o'clock for our regularly scheduled P.H.O.I. Eagles show unless the Eagles do something between now and then, we have a super chat just in time, E.J. Does the Howell trade guarantee that McCord will try to be kept via the practice squad, or is there a chance that the Eagles just move on from him entirely? I feel like he, I feel like the Eagles will want him on the practice squad.

He wasn't catastrophic this summer. It's not like this is somebody that does not have any theoretical upside. Now, I, I guess there is always a question about like what happens with him on the waiver wire. I don't really think that he's going to be like a hot commodity on the waiver wire, given his preseason film. So I think he'll probably end up on the practice squad. If you told me to put my turkeys on it,

I would say 85. on practice squad and then like maybe 10 on claimed on the waivers and then probably five on like just like they just said no we don't even want him on the practice squad i would go higher i think on just like he's gone first of all i don't think he's going to get claimed but i because because we're saying that sam howell is not a developmental quarterback they still want to have a developmental quarterback in the building and if they have judged that mccord is not that guy i think it's very possible that they sign somebody else to the practice squad instead of it. Yeah, I guess it really depends on, I mean, who shakes free from other teams. I still feel like, I don't know. Now I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth, like giving space for Kyle McCord to eventually develop into something. But I don't know, I could, I could,

would you not put most of your turkeys on him being on the practice squad? I would put most of them, but I wouldn't go as high as 85. Okay, that's fair. So 60. 60? A very important distinction. Maybe you talked to me into like 77 on him being on the practice squad. I still think it's more likely than not. EJ. Will we do another emergency pod before tomorrow at 2 o'clock? Probably if I had to guess. Yeah, I do think so. I mean, part of the, part of the reason I was like, I did the pick formulation and then I had to look. I'm like, why didn't they just trade a six,

you know? And they have tons of fifth round picks. And they also don't have very many sevens. So I just feel like, yeah, there's going to be opportunities for them. They still have the draft compensate the draft the draft the capital to make make a trade if they need to uh and yeah when i'm going through my 53 there are a few spots there that i'm just a little bit like it feels like something needs to happen here you know it feels like there's a player to be added uh at a few spots so yeah i would it would not surprise me at all if they get another one of these like i'll take your player that was going to get cut for uh day three pick i could see that all right there we go thank to Ethan for producing this bad boy and hopping into action. We will be with you tomorrow

at 2 o'clock unless we're with you before then, and the Eagles make another trade. For E.J., I'm Bo. That'll do it. And as always, we love you.