ORLANDO, Fla. – It’s out there now, even though Andy Reid didn’t want to phrase it quite this bluntly Wednesday: Donovan McNabb is on the trading block.
It could just be a smokescreen, but probably not. What’s likely going on, now that Reid has admitted that the Eagles are entertaining offers on all three of their quarterbacks, is that the Eagles have finally realized that saying McNabb is off limits is bad business. Several teams that were looking for quarterbacks in the off-season have now found them. Cleveland signed Jake Delhomme. Arizona signed Derek Anderson. Seattle signed Charlie Whitehurst, a no-name backup from San Diego who has never thrown a pass in the National Football League.
If there was ever a time the Eagles could’ve gotten a first-round draft pick for McNabb, it would’ve been before those signings.
Now, maybe they could get a second, which apparently is their new asking price. Or maybe they could get a collection of picks, like a third and a fourth, which also might be enough. There are still teams in need of a starting quarterback: Buffalo, St. Louis, Oakland, San Francisco, maybe Minnesota, maybe still Cleveland.
But imagine if all the Eagles could get for McNabb was a fourth-round pick. They’d really have no one to blame but themselves.
Whatever it ends up being – and Wednesday afternoon there were reports the Eagles had a deal with St. Louis on the table for the Rams’ second-round draft pick (33d overall and first of the second day) and their starting free safety, Oshiomogho Atogwe – it appears the Eagles are making their move.
At a breakfast Wednesday with reporters, Reid was asked about the new format for the draft, with the first round in prime time on April 22 and the second round starting the next night.
“I’d love to have that first pick on the second day where all of a sudden you go, ‘Deep breath, I’ll sleep on this pick right here,’ kind of re-gather your thoughts and then boom, you go into it like you normally do,” Reid said. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”
The team has established its plan of action, although, understandably, they were keeping it a closely guarded secret. When approached by a reporter Wednesday, team owner Jeffrey Lurie declined to answer any questions about the quarterbacks before any questions were even asked.
Reid said that the franchise brain trust would head back to Philadelphia from the NFL’s annual meeting in Orlando and “evaluate the situation.”
“We’re entertaining offers,” Reid said, “and we might keep all three.”
They might have to.
There appears to be no market for Michael Vick, who has said publicly that he wants to be a starter in 2010. And one top-level NFL executive said that if the Eagles were going to part with Kevin Kolb, they would’ve done so already and shipped him to Cleveland, where Tom Heckert, who drafted Kolb, is now the general manager and would happily have taken him.
That leaves McNabb, who has one year remaining on the contract extension he signed before the 2009 season.
For a team to give up a high draft pick for McNabb, that team would have to be able to extend McNabb’s contract to make it worth their while. The Eagles could trade McNabb to some place he doesn’t want to go, but if McNabb won’t agree to an extension, what the Eagles would get in return likely would be garbage. Then again, maybe that wouldn’t matter.
McNabb declined an interview request Wednesday, but he issued a statement saying what he’s always said publicly: He wants to finish his career in Philadelphia and win a Super Bowl for the Eagles, and for the city.
But there was a twist.
“I understand the situation well,” McNabb said, “and just hope whichever direction the Eagles decide to go in, they do it quickly. I think that would be best for me, Kevin, Michael, the Eagles and any other team involved. No matter what happens, I have already begun preparing to have an outstanding season in 2010.”
Translation: Move me, or stop this foolishness.
It’s impossible to blame McNabb for feeling that way.
So the Eagles have gotten their message out without revealing too many details, so if they actually do end up with McNabb, Kolb and Vick on the roster after the draft next month, they can spin it to their advantage and smooth things over with McNabb.
“I’m listening,” Reid said. “I’m not saying I’m doing anything, but I’m keeping my ears open, which we do on every player. This is no different. … I mean, Donovan’s our No. 1 quarterback, and Kevin’s our No. 2 quarterback, and Michael’s our No. 3 quarterback. That’s how I feel.”
Today. This minute. Maybe not tomorrow.
“Well, I mean, I said Donovan’s our starting quarterback,” Reid said. “I guess we’re all living for the day here. To answer your question, yes, today he is our starting quarterback.”
But if the Eagles execute their plan and there is no doubt they have a proactive plan to move one of the quarterbacks – someone will be gone. The guess here, and all it is is an educated guess, is that if the Eagles find a trading partner, it will be McNabb who is shipped.
That would end the era. Troy Vincent, Brian Dawkins, Brian Westbrook, Jeremiah Trotter, Hugh Douglas, Jon Runyan, Tra Thomas. They’re all gone.
“If you’ve stayed at one place for a long period of time, things like this happen,” Reid said. “I saw a clip of our 2004 Super Bowl (team), and Donovan is like the only one still here on the offense. It’s one of those things. On the defense, it’s Sheldon Brown).
“If you’re fortunate enough to stay in one place for as long as I have, then you’re going to go through things like that. It’s not an easy thing, but you know it’s going to happen. And then you got to get used to change. That’s part of the game. You got to embrace it as opposed to being afraid of it.”
Reid was talking in general about roster turnover. But it was hard not to think he was talking about one position – and one player – in particular.