Philadelphia Eagles face tough decision on quarterbacks' future
The Philadelphia Eagles have two quarterbacks, and both can be starters. When the regular season began, Kevin Kolb was the starting quarterback for Philadelphia but then he suffered a concussion, and Vick had to stand in for him. The Eagles got a little
taste of the Michael Vick magic, and decided to demote Kolb to backup. Obviously Kolb wasn’t happy about it but hey, it’s a quarterback eat quarterback world out there.
Now the Eagles have Kevin Kolb on contract for another year, while Vick’s contract is going to expire soon. The team has to make quarterback decisions which would define the Eagles for years to come, in the backdrop of Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)
negotiations which threaten the 2011 season.
Kolb doesn’t want to be a backup but the contract extension he signed makes sure that he stays with the Eagles until after the 2011 season. Unless the Eagles trade Kolb to another team, the quarterback has no choice but to stay on as backup for Vick. There
can be no trades until the next CBA is signed anyway. The current agreement expires in March, and that puts the Eagles in a very odd situation.
The easiest option would be to keep both Michael Vick and Kevin Kolb. Philadelphia’s coach Andy Reid has made it clear that he wants Vick back with the Eagles. Reid said that the fact that Kolb also wants to be a starter did not bother him. In fact he said
that it was a good thing. “If you have a quarterback, really any player but particularly at quarterback, that's not thinking that he wants to be a starter and a great football player, then you have a problem.”
The fact of the matter is that Vick’s outstanding performance this year guarantees that he would indeed be the starter for the Eagles, if he signs with them for the 2011 season. Kolb knows that very well and that means that if Kolb stays with the Eagles,
it would only be to serve out the remainder of his contract and nothing more.
The Eagles don’t need two starting quarterbacks and if they could, they would trade Kolb to the highest bidder. There are many teams who are looking for quarterbacks this season, and waiting for the trade embargo to be lifted. Kolb has proven himself at
a very young age. While the Eagles might feel secure with Vick, Kolb could become the future for a different team. Now the question is timing. Will the CBA be signed before April’s draft?
If there is no new agreement, teams that are looking for a quarterback are going to pick them from the draft. There are a whole bunch of promising quarterbacks up for grabs and if trading doesn’t begin until the draft, that is where the teams would look
for their quarterbacks. Once the draft is over and the teams have invested in players, Kolb wouldn’t be as prized a commodity as he is now.
The Eagles, like the Colts are reluctant to offer Vick a contract without knowing what the CBA would bring. However, they could keep the quarterback as their franchise player for the year. If they decide to keep Vick without signing him to a new Contract,
they would also want to Keep Kolb on the team in case Vick doesn’t return after 2011. Also the way Vick Plays the game makes it rather likely that he could get injured. He is a quarterback and a running back rolled into one. That is another very important
reason why the Eagles would want to keep Kolb, but an unhappy backup might not be the best thing for either side.
At $1.4 million, Kolb is free as far as a player who can be the starting quarterback is concerned. Philadelphia can very well afford to keep both quarterbacks. Coach Andy Reid might also want to hold on to Kolb as a bargaining chip in the off-season. However,
Kolb is at his most valuable right now. If he spends another season on the bench, Reid would no longer be able to trade him for much. The time to make a decision is fast approaching.
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