PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles released quarterback Andy Dalton on Friday, officially cutting ties with the 14-year veteran weeks after a costly interception cost him his job as the team's primary backup.

The move traces back to Week 3, when Dalton entered a game against the Chicago Bears while Jalen Hurts was being evaluated for a concussion. Philadelphia drove 95 yards down the field, only for Dalton to throw an interception into the end zone on third-and-goal from the 2-yard line — a mistake that helped seal a 27-7 loss, according to ESPN's report on the release.

Tanner McKee was elevated to the No. 2 quarterback job behind Hurts in the aftermath, dropping Dalton to third on the depth chart. Head coach Nick Sirianni said at the time he still had faith in all three of his quarterbacks — Dalton, McKee and rookie Cole Payton — but the writing was on the wall once Dalton lost the backup role outright.

THE RELEASE CLEARS ROUGHLY $1 MILLION IN DEAD CAP SPACE AS PHILADELPHIA RESHUFFLES ITS ROSTER

As a vested veteran, Dalton didn't have to clear waivers, making his release the cleanest way for the Eagles to open a roster spot, per NFL.com's coverage. The timing isn't incidental — Philadelphia has been working through a string of losses up front, including right tackle Lane Johnson's retirement and center Cam Jurgens' trade to Baltimore, forcing the front office to prioritize roster flexibility elsewhere.

Dalton, a free agent as of Friday, is widely expected to draw interest for a practice-squad role somewhere if a better opportunity doesn't materialize first — he's started games for five different franchises across a career that began with the Bengals in 2011. For the Eagles, the more pressing question is depth: with McKee now the direct backup to Hurts and no proven third arm on the roster, any further injury at quarterback would leave Philadelphia leaning heavily on an unproven rookie down the stretch of a season they still see as Super Bowl-caliber.