"Okay, you go to this team, or this team. I'll stay here."
"I'm listening (to offers) out there (for all three quarterbacks). I'm not saying I'm doing anything, but we're keeping our ears open."
That is what Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid told the media a couple weeks ago in Orlando at the NFL's owners meetings. Since then, all of the rumors have surrounded around Donovan McNabb and little to no attention has been placed on Kevin Kolb or Michael Vick.
The truth (sad for a large portion of misguided fans) is that Reid said he's listening to offers for all three quarterbacks -- not just McNabb.
That, of course, would mean Kolb and Vick are susceptible to being shipped out of town just as quickly, if not quicker, than McNabb. In fact, there could be a better chance that either of those guys is shipped because they haven't gotten the vote of confidence from Reid that McNabb has in the several times Reid has said McNabb is the starter for 2010.
And now, Derrick Gunn of Comcast SportsNet in Philadelphia is saying the same thing via his Facebook page.
"After talking to several league sources a few hours ago, don't rule out the possibility that Kevin Kolb, and not McNabb, could be the one traded," Gunn writes as his "status."
I'm always skeptical when a guy cites "league sources," but Gunn is a guy who usually doesn't open his mouth (or type, whatever) until he really believes what he's saying. This tells me that Gunn seriously believes it's a possiblity that Kolb, and not McNabb, could be moved within the next month or so.
It could have been the Eagles who leaked the McNabb-to-the-Rams and Raiders and Bills and whoever else simply as a way of pumping up Kolb's trade value. If teams that want Kolb think the Eagles are set to make him the starter and their quarterback of the future, the offers could gradually start going up.
The anti-McNabb crowd will say that the Eagles have wasted their time grooming Kolb to trade him now, but if they can get picks out of him, then what is the harm? The team has a lot of holes on defense, and taking in two or three picks for Kolb would help immensely.
Gunn's report obviously doesn't mean McNabb is safe, but it backs up what I have been saying all along and still believe: Reid is married to McNabb and won't part until the death of McNabb's abilities, or until a guy can come along and uproot him.
Kolb, while he may turn out to be a good quarterback, isn't that guy.
