Saturday, April 10, 2010

Jeff Garcia to the Eagles? Again?

Now that the Eagles are down to two quarterbacks, rumors have already begun about who they will get to be the third. Because, you know, what would this team be without rampant quarterback speculation?

With Kevin Kolb anointed the starter and Michael Vick the backup (unless he's traded), the Eagles can go one of two ways with their third string signal caller: the Birds can either draft a quarterback to develop or they can get an established quarterback who could step into the mix should Kolb falter or get hurt. In terms of developmental quarterbacks, we have already heard Tim Tebow's name thrown around, though the Eagles likely won't draft him unless he falls deep into the second round, something that isn't likely to happen given the interest in Tebow by a number of teams around the league.

Rather than get a project like Tebow, the Eagles might be leaning towards a veteran backup. The way it stands now, should something happen to Kolb, the Eagles would be forced to turn to Michael Vick as the starter. Unfortunately for Vick, though, the Eagles don't really view him as anything more than a gimmick quarterback, someone who can run the Wildcat and keep defenses off balance. Bringing in a veteran quarterback who knows the system would allow the Eagles to keep their offense the same should the team be forced to turn to a backup.

Enter Jeff Garcia. The Eagles have apparently been in contact with Garcia about returning to Philadelphia yet again. As you recall, Garcia signed on to play with the Eagles for a short time last season, seeing only a few snaps late in a blowout win against the Chiefs. While he is 40 years old, Garcia knows the Eagle offense very well and would be someone the Eagles could trust in a pinch. While I'm not crazy about the idea of having to play Garcia, if he's willing to accept a backup role, bringing him in to help teach the offense and be an emergency quarterback wouldn't be a bad thing.

Of course, there is always the possibility that the Eagles sign Garcia and draft a developmental quarterback if they choose to trade Michael Vick. Rumors are still circulating that the Eagles would like to move Vick and I'm sure they would if anyone offered them a good deal. Don't hold your breath that another team in the league is dumb enough to trade for Vick.

Besides the fact that Kevin Kolb is the starter, it's fair to say that the Eagles quarterback situation is in flux. I'm sure from now until at least the draft and possibly beyond, we are going to be hearing about possible trades with Vick and talk that the Eagles will sign a veteran quarterback. The more things change, the more they stay the same in Philadelphia: the Eagles QB carousel continues to spin.

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