The Kolb Conundrum

By: Matt

When the Philadelphia Eagles traded away franchise quarterback Donovan McNabb before the start of this season they expected Kevin Kolb to step in and lead the team. Kolb had been drafted 3 years prior with the intention of being groomed as McNabb’s successor (much like Super Bowl starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers was groomed to replace Brett Favre). Now, less then one year later, the Eagles have found a NEW franchise quarterback and are left facing an unparalleled, and in some ways unenviable, situation.

In just 3 short years as an Eagle Kolb has become one of the team’s most controversial and divisive players. His play on the field varied from terrifying (best seen during a relief stint for McNabb during a 2008 game against Baltimore) to record-breaking (his first two starts in 2009 against New Orleans and Kansas City). The Eagles chose to hand the talented but unproven Kolb the reigns and traded away their controversial leader of nearly a decade. Kolb lasted nearly a week in that role. An injury to Kolb allowed Michael Vick, arguably the NFL’s most electrifying (and controversial) player to return to the spotlight and demonstrate the benefits of new teaching and a new perspective. Kolb was once-again relegated to a back-up role, Vick became the fan-favorite and team leader, and now the Eagles must make a decision: what should be done with Kevin Kolb.

Recent news of an impending Franchise Tag for Vick indicates that the Eagles will attempt to trade Kolb before the NFL draft. As a classic example of the law of unintended consequences, top prospect and consensus #1 overall pick Andrew Luck’s decision to return to Stanford for his senior year has not only crushed the Carolina Panthers hope of getting a new franchise quarterback, but also caused Kolb’s market value to skyrocket. The remaining quarterbacks in the draft all have a fair share of question marks, and many are seen as incapable of playing from day 1. Kolb now has an affordable contract and 4 years of NFL experience in addition to the prerequisite physical skill that made him the Eagles top draft choice in 2007. Trading Kolb would seem logical; teams like Arizona, Minnesota, Oakland, Washington, and Miami all need quarterbacks; however, trading Kolb to one of the many logical suitors isn’t nearly the simple. Because of the impending lockout NFL teams are barred from making trades. The only activity that can occur this off-season (without a new CBA being signed) would be the draft. If the draft occurs before the CBA is signed, no trades can be made, and the Eagles will be forced to keep Kolb. Trading Kolb for draft picks is the most logical course of action for the Eagles, and trading him for a 2012 draft pick may be undesirable to the team. Other teams in need of quarterbacks could also simply draft one, rather than trade away future draft picks to bet on Kolb. If the Eagles don’t want 2012 picks, they would be forced to keep a quarterback who has expressed a desire to start or leave as a backup for another year.

The Kolb situation is complicated, the simplest course of action that would benefit everyone the most may be relegated to the realm of the hypothetical because of the labor strife, and if that occurs, the Eagles will be faced with a small number of options they may not be pleased with any of. Ultimately, what happens with Kolb will be the result of a multitude of factors, the most important of which is the union negotiations that will dominate sports media for the next few seasons (hopefully not). Trading Kolb may seem logical, but given the circumstances and limitations, it may not be possible or advantageous. As frustrating as it may seem, only time can resolve this conflict. Until then, we are all free to speculate. Nobody can change anything now.