ORLANDO, Fla. -- With as much desperation as there is throughout the NFL for quarterback upgrades, it stands to reason that the one team in the league with an apparent glut of starting-caliber talent at the position would be fielding its share of trade inquiries.
That appears to be the case with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Coach Andy Reid acknowledged during the NFC coaches breakfast with the media Wednesday at the NFL Annual Meeting that teams have approached the Eagles about potential deals involving all three of their quarterbacks: Donovan McNabb, Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick. Beyond the willingness to evaluate the interest, there isn't any clear sense from Reid on what, if any, moves could be on the horizon.
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"We'll go back and look through those and think through them a little bit, away from this situation here," Reid said. "There's (no offer) right now that I'd jump up and down about. But there has been some interest."
There has been quite a bit of buzz at the meeting that McNabb could end up elsewhere in the not-too-distant future. At least two teams have shown enough seriousness in acquiring him to get the Eagles' attention, and Philadelphia's preference for the 2010 season is to go with Kolb, who was drafted to be McNabb's successor. The sentiment of at least one league source is that the Eagles might have already waited too long to make a trade that would bring them the first-round compensation they are known to be seeking, and if they wait any longer they could wind up getting considerably less.
As it is, the Eagles might have to settle for something less than a first-rounder.
The identity of the two clubs specifically interested in McNabb remains a mystery, although the St. Louis Rams are apparently not one of them, due to the fact most league observers expect them to use the draft's top overall pick on Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford.
Two teams with seemingly the most burning quarterback needs are the Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins. The Bills don't seem to have a viable option among Trent Edwards, Ryan Fitzpatrick or Brian Brohm. They own the ninth overall pick of the draft, which conceivably gives them a shot at the only other quarterback viewed worthy of first-round consideration, Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen. But he might not be there. Entering the final year of his contrct, McNabb also would seek a substantial pay increase with an extension, and that potentially could be too expensive for the Bills.
The Arizona Cardinals also look like a possibility, even though they seem intent on entering the season with Matt Leinart as the replacement for the retired Kurt Warner and recently signed Derek Anderson as his backup. McNabb resides in Arizona in the offseason and would seemingly embrace the idea of joining a club with plenty of weapons in the passing game.
The Minnesota Vikings would bear watching only if Brett Favre decided, once and for all, to retire. Vikings coach Brad Childress was McNabb's position coach in Philadelphia, and has an offensive scheme with which McNabb is already familiar.
But would the Eagles want to ship him to another NFC team?
The Cleveland Browns aren't necessarily out of the quarterback market after signing Jake Delhomme, formerly of the Carolina Panthers, and acquiring Seneca Wallace from the Seattle Seahawks in a trade. Tom Heckert left the Eagles to become the Browns' general manager and new Browns president Mike Holmgren also has strong ties with Reid, who was an assistant on his coaching staff in Green Bay.
But with Holmgren reshaping the Browns for the long haul, it probably makes more sense for them to go with Delhomme as their starter for a season and then turn the job over to someone they draft this year or in 2011.
It seems a virtual certainty that the Eagles will part ways with Vick, who wants to become a starter after returning from a prison stretch as a one-year backup in Philly. Whether another team would see Vick in that light is highly debatable, but he figures to wind up somewhere initially as a backup who could at least have the chance to compete for a No. 1 spot.
"We're just kind of gathering everything (on quarterback trade proposals) all up and we're going to take it back to Philadelphia -- (team president) Joe (Banner), (new GM) Howie (Roseman) and myself," Reid said. "And then we'll see what happens."
