{
  "id": 4843046,
  "title": "Was Eagles' 4 QB roster gamble a big mistake or Howie genius move?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/was-eagles-4-qb-roster-gamble-a-big-mistake-or-howie-genius-move",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-01T10:48:30.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/eagles-4-qb-roster-gamble-104830330.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman explained his decision to keep four quarterbacks on the team's 53-man roster as valuable for both short-term and long-term prospects. He noted that the decision accounted for 8% of the entire roster, despite the team's desire to field only one quarterback in Jalen Hurts. Cole Payton, the fourth quarterback drafted in the fifth round, was deemed not ready to play in the NFL, but was kept nonetheless. This decision impacted the roster in multiple ways, causing the Eagles to lose more players on waivers than any other NFL team, including offensive linemen, a defensive back, and a tight end. Furthermore, keeping Payton prevented the Eagles from making trades, as they could not trade for a backup quarterback without Payton serving as the emergency option. The moral of the story is that keeping Payton on the practice squad came at the cost of losing other draft picks and players, potentially hindering the team's overall performance.",
  "summary": "The Eagles kept four QBs on the 53-man roster. Here's what it cost them and why they believe it's worth it.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}