Will Kolb be an Eagle past the Week 6 trade deadline?


According to Anthony Gargano of 610-WIP, the Cleveland Browns placed a call to the Eagles last night about the availability of quarterback Kevin Kolb. With Kolb now relegated to the bench, it would make sense for a quarterback-needy team to make such an inquiry.

It makes even more sense when we look at the guys who are now making personnel decisions in Cleveland: former Eagles' general manager Tom Heckert and Andy Reid's former boss and mentor Mike Holmgren.

The two teams are natural trade partners, and Heckert just happens to be the guy who had a hand in drafting Kolb in the second round back in 2007. So, to say this is story is plausible would be just short of an understatement.

But, according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, it's not true.

Cabot tweeted that a league source has told her the rumor is untrue, and I'm certainly more inclined to buy what Cabot is selling over that blowhard Gargano.

There is, however, a good chance Kolb gets moved before the Week 6 trade deadline. Reid was asked about the possibility Kolb is playing elsewhere in Week 7, and had this to say:

"Listen, I can’t predict anything down that far. Nobody in this league can do that. That’s ridiculous. It’s very similar to the things that were reported about – and I tried to be very thorough about it – that there was nobody that influenced this call. This was my decision and the future, we will just have to see and we’ll cross that bridge when it comes."

It doesn't take that guy from "Lie to Me" to know what Reid is saying there. Basically, if the right offer comes along there's at least a shot that Kolb could get shipped out.

Reid did seem to cover his tracks when asked if he would listen to offers for Kolb when he said "No, I want Kevin Kolb on this football team."

It sounds like Reid is just going to keep talking Kolb up in an effort to up his trade value. It surely had to take a hit with his poor performance against the Green Bay Packers and his subsequent benching, but a little praise from a guy like Reid should go a long way in convincing the other teams around the league that they'd be getting a quality young quarterback.

Whether they are or not will be for them to find out on their own.

UPDATE: Sal Paolantonio is saying a team source has told him that the team has "had calls," but Philly.com's Jeff McLane is reporting a team source has told him there is absolutely no truth "whatsoever" to the rumor.

So, right now, it's 2-2.
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Sorry Vick, you'll never be a starter in Philadelphia.


Whether it's on message boards, hearing it in casual conversation, or even reading it in articles written by "expert" sports writers, people are still talking about the possibility of Michael Vick replacing Kevin Kolb at some point next season.

I keep hearing, "Just wait until Kolb has a three-interception game," or "Wait until the Eagles are 2-5 and Kolb is throwing more picks than touchdowns. They're looking for a reason to play Vick."

I'm hear to tell you now that's nonsense. Vick will never start at quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. Kolb, even if he stinks up the field every single week, will be the starter. Andy Reid and the rest of the organization has made a commitment to him and they're now married.

Kolb has very limited playing time, and there will be growing pains and bumps along the way. He will throw a few stupid interceptions or miss a wide-open receiver because he made the wrong read, or whatever else, but he will not get pulled in favor of anyone, much less Vick.

But, through it all, Reid will continue to play him week after week -- regardless of the inevitable clammer for Vick.

Of course, it's possible that Kolb plays very well next season and there's no reason to even consider pulling him, but it's more likely that he screws up pretty bad at certain points and the same group of people who wanted to see A.J. Feeley and Jeff Garcia become the full-time starters will start chanting and hollering for Vick to get his shot.

But, like I said, it won't ever happen. Even if Kolb were to go down for a few weeks, the Eagles would most likely start whomever the third quarterback will be, whether that's Garcia or a rookie taken in the later rounds.

The Eagles, including Reid, see Vick as a gadget player and not a quarterback. That's his role on this team and that's all it will ever be.

In fact, there's a strong possibility that Vick isn't even on this roster in a couple of months, so temper your enthusiasm right now, Vick-lovers.
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Gaither may have played his last game as an Eagle.


Of the nine guys the Eagles tendered as restricted free agents this offseason, only two of them, Jason Avant and Leonard Weaver, have received long-term deals, while Chris Gocong has already been moved to the Cleveland Browns.

The other six guys will be playing under one-year deals and don't figure to be in the Eagles' long-term plans.

Of those six players, Ellis Hobbs, Akeem Jordan, and Nick Cole figure to see substantial playing time as either backups or starters and are more-or-less untouchable. Cole could be the most likely to get moved given Andy Reid's ability to plug in linemen, or if Reid jumps on Maurkice Pouncey at 24th overall as many seem to believe.

Two others, Omar Gaither and Max Jean-Gilles, appear to be available to the same fate as Gocong -- traded to the first team willing to take them.

For those of you who can do math, you know I didn't mention one guy. Sav Rocca, the guy I didn't mention, isn't in the Eagles' long-term plans, but he's probably their best option for right now and is certainly not going to get them anything via trade.

The market for Gaither and Jean-Gilles doesn't figure to be vast, if one exists at all, so either player would most likely be used in a package so the Eagles can move up in the draft.

Jean-Gilles would be best suited heading to a downhill run-first team, as his run-blocking ability far outweighs his pass-blocking. He's a big body at 6'4, 350 pounds (give or take), so he could help any team looking to run right up the middle.

Gaither is much more intriguing guy. He's very versatile and has started in the middle and on the weakside at linebacker, but could probably even play the strongside in a pinch. Teams will love his versatility, as Reid does, so he could be much more difficult for teams to pry away.

He's not quite physical enough to be a starter on anything more than an average defense, but he's a very good backup for any team still running the 4-3. He could find some use as a 3-4 inside linebacker, but WILL is probably where he belongs.

It's a bit more sketchy with the other players, but I would be very surprised if either Jean-Gilles or Gaither are on this roster when the 2010 offseason camps really get under way.

I believe the Eagles will be looking to move up in almost every round of the draft, and Gaither and Jean-Gilles will be two pieces of ammunition in order to do just that.
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This relationship appears to be dissolving rapidly.


With all the turnover the Eagles' roster has been seeing this past offseason, it shouldn't be a surprise if anyone over the age of 24 is traded or cut as we move closer to the start of the season.

But there's one name that has been coming up sporadically in trade talks that I would have never expected: Asante Samuel. The All-Pro cornerback doesn't seem to be on the same page as head coach Andy Reid or defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, and could wind up talking his way right out of Philly.

As you'll recall, Reid and Samuel got into a mini war of words recently, and while it doesn't seem like much on the surface, it could be the boiling point of something that's been going on in the locker room since day one.

"I think Asante knows he needs to have a better year than what he had, even though he was a Pro Bowler," Reid told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "As good a player as he is, he can be even better," Reid said. "And I think that's the way he's handling the offseason."

Reid made those remarks after Samuel failed to show up for some voluntary workouts. A couple days later, Samuel had something of his own to say.

"The whole team needs to improve from the front office, to the head coach to the players," Samuel told CSNPhilly.com's Derrick Gunn.

So clearly, as I said earlier, these guys are not on the same page.

Then, on 610WIP on Saturday, Sheldon Brown (now of the Cleveland Browns) had something to say about some unnamed players, or perhaps one specific individual as my colleague Garry Cobb believes.

"I just think, we as a defense in Philadelphia, you just have to believe in what coach [Sean] McDermott preaches and follow the plan," Brown told Howard Eskin and Ike Reese. "You know, sometimes I look back at last year, the season, I feel that we had some players that really was questioning some of the things that were being done."

"And [we] never had that situation since I’ve been there," Brown continued. "And first and foremost, you have to believe in the system, believe in the plan, or you lose before you even go out there. And if the guys can remember to do that, stick together, they’ll be fine."

Apparently, if Cobb is accurate in his assumption, Brown believes that Samuel's presence in the locker room created a distraction and that, for as good as Samuel can be, his unwillingness to play within the scheme consistently hurt the defense.

That, my friends, is something Reid will have none of. Ever since the infamous story about making the lineman push the sled up and down the field, and then cutting him, Reid has had a reputation for dumping players who don't buy into his system.

Reid doesn't rarely call players out in public, so it shows you how he's feeling about Samuel if he's willing to do so with him. And then the fact that Samuel felt the need to passive-aggressively respond might show a glimpse of the player/person he is.

Samuel's got a big contract, but he's definitely worth it to a team that will allow him to do what he does best. Outside of his unwillingness to tackle (which Deion Sanders would call a "business decision"), Samuel is a very good corner who would certainly garner interest in the open market.

Depending on how far the Eagles want to move up in the first round, we could see Samuel get traded very early on draft day. That will depend on what a team is asking for, if the Eagles want to move up at all, and if they feel like they can replace him.

Who knows, they could be moving up to take his replacement.

Ever since Donovan McNabb was traded, of all places, to the Washington Redskins, nothing will surprise me anymore. Seeing Samuel get moved on draft-day, or perhaps to a team the week after the draft that feels like they still have holes in their secondary, would not even make me blink twice at this point.

It's a youth movement in Philadelphia, but it's more about getting players who will buy into the system, regardless of age.

Reid has shown he's not afraid to make the tough call, so if Samuel doesn't hop on board very quickly he could find himself shipped elsewhere sooner rather than later.
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