The Kevin Kolb rumor mill has the Philadelphia Eagles trading the quarterback to the Arizona Cardinals. Or the Seattle Seahawks. Or the San Francisco 49ers.
Or the Cleveland Browns? NFL Network insider Michael Lombardi believes it's a possibility.
"I'm not buying the Colt McCoy love affair going on in Cleveland," Lombardi said Thursday on KTAR-AM in Phoenix. "I don't know how you can have the love affair. I know he's played well, but they managed him in the game, and there were some moments where he really didn't play as well."
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McCoy, a third-round pick in 2010, started eight games for the Browns last season after Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace were injured. McCoy went 2-6, passing for 1,576 yards and six touchdowns with nine interceptions, and he has taken a leadership role by organizing player workouts this offseason.
The Plain Dealerlater cited a league source in reporting that the Browns won't pursue Kolb, but Lombardi pointed out Thursday that they hold the biggest card in the sweepstakes: the 2012 first-round pick they acquired in last month's draft-day trade with the Atlanta Falcons.
Not that the Browns should surrender that pick in exchange for Kolb, who has started just seven games in four NFL seasons and thrown for 2,082 yards and 11 TDs with 14 interceptions.
"It's hard to watch tape on Kevin Kolb and think he's worth a first-round pick," Lombardi said. "So it's going to require somebody selling him in the building, and somebody has to know him."
"When you study the tape on Kevin Kolb, it's not overly impressive," Lombardi said. "... It's very disappointing at times. And I think really -- I know Philadelphia doesn't like me when I say this -- but I think ultimately ... Philly would have been a 7-9 team, if he did have to play. If it wasn't for Michael Vick, it would have been bad."
Talk about Kolb, who lost his starting job to Vick last year, has dominated the NFL offseason. The latest on the subject came from Eagles coach Andy Reid, who said Tuesday that the team doesn't have an agreement to trade Kolb once the NFL lockout ends, as rumored.
Reid did confirm that several teams have inquired about Kolb, who has started seven games in four NFL seasons and thrown for 2,082 yards and 11 TDs with 14 interceptions.
"You don't know how serious they are, because in the National Football League, nothing happens until it has to happen," Reid said. "You have an idea of who's interested in quarterbacks ... but you couldn't do any deals then. You never got to that point where it's real serious; it was too far in advance. And you can't talk at all now. So, if he ends up going somewhere, more power to him, he deserves that opportunity. But I also like him here."
