Eagles Name Joe Milton Starting Quarterback for Giants Game
The Philadelphia Eagles have named Joe Milton III their starting quarterback for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants, ESPN reported Wednesday. It will be Milton’s first NFL start.
Head coach Nick Sirianni said as recently as Monday of Tanner McKee, “Tanner’s our guy. We’re not making any changes there.” Two days later, he changed course. McKee lost all three games he started since Week 6 after Jalen Hurts was lost for the season with blood clots. Milton will be the Eagles’ third starting quarterback this season.
Milton joined the Eagles’ 53-man roster on Oct. 16 from the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad. He starts 23 days later, after just 10 practices. NBC Sports Philadelphia reported he is the first Eagles quarterback to start after joining the team after opening day since Ken O’Brien in 1993, and the first former Cowboy to start at quarterback for the Eagles since Rodney Peete in 1995.
Milton is 26, about 6 feet 5 inches tall and about 235 pounds. He began his college career at Michigan and transferred to Tennessee in 2021. As Tennessee’s starter in 2023, he threw for 2,813 yards with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions in 12 games. In 2022, he stepped in for the injured Hendon Hooker in the Orange Bowl, beat No. 7 Clemson and was named the game’s most valuable player.
The New England Patriots drafted Milton in the sixth round, 193rd overall, in 2024. He debuted in the final game of his rookie season against Buffalo, completing 22 of 29 passes for 241 yards with one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown. The Patriots traded him to Dallas in April 2025, and he appeared in four games in relief for the Cowboys, throwing for 183 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Dallas released him on Aug. 31, and he returned to the practice squad. Milton has appeared in five NFL games in relief, including Dallas’ season finale at the Giants last January, when he completed seven of 13 passes for 73 yards.
The injury picture is not good. Seven players missed Wednesday’s practice: running back Saquon Barkley (hamstring and back), linebacker Jihaad Campbell (hamstring and quadriceps), defensive back Michael Carter (abdomen), wide receiver Britain Covey (knee), cornerback Jonathan Jones (hamstring), wide receiver DeVonta Smith (hamstring) and Dontayvion Wicks (ankle). Barkley returned to limited practice Thursday, but Smith and five others were still out. NBC Sports reported Smith and Wicks are likely to miss a third straight game. McKee was also limited Thursday with a rib injury after practicing fully Wednesday despite a chest injury. USA Today reported final game statuses will be clearer in Friday’s final injury report.
The game kicks off Sunday at 1 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The Giants will start former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The Eagles are 2-6 and on a six-game losing streak, and they enter their bye week after this game. Whether they end the skid before the break is at stake.
Both teams will start Michigan alumni at quarterback. Milton played at Michigan from 2018 to 2020, and McCarthy is also a Michigan product. Two quarterbacks from the same school will meet in a division rivalry game.
