Not to beat this Michael Vick issue to death, but one thing that I think will definitely be interesting to keep an eye on in the coming weeks is Vick's contract. As many of you know, the two-year contract ends after the 2010 season, wherein Vick will be making a tidy sum of $5.2 million. As of now, no contract extension has been discussed and, of course, when pressured about it at his press conference, Andy Reid brushed the question off.
"Listen, I haven’t even gone there. I’m going with who we are playing now. He is the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles and that’s what it is right now."
Obviously, elevating Vick to a permanent starting role indicates that the Eagles are in "win now" mode, and that the development of Kevin Kolb, once the assumed franchise quarterback, can take a backseat on the road to Dallas. How committed the Eagles are to Vick beyond this season though remains to be seen. Andy Reid has understandably stated that he wants Kolb to remain a part of the team, but it's hard to see the organization paying him over $12 million to be a backup. So, now you have the Eagles once again embroiled in a two starting-caliber quarterbacks controversy. In order for this to be resolved, either Kolb will be traded, or Vick will be allowed to seek new opportunities after the season ends and Kolb will resume his starting role. (Of course, knowing this organization, they'll probably go for a third, completely off-the-charts option, but that's a discussion for another time.)
As our friend anuj indicated earlier today, several teams have already reportedly contacted the Eagles and expressed interest in trading for Kolb. There certainly are enough franchises out there that could use a decent (if inexperienced) starting QB, or at least a developmental prospect for next year. The Bills, Browns, Cardinals, Jaguars and Seahawks are teams that immediately spring to mind. So, will a team offer a convincing enough package for Andy Reid to part with Kolb? When asked if anything would happen before the October 19th trade deadline, our head coach was as noncommittal as ever:
"Listen, I can't predict anything down that far, nobody in this league can do that."
The key indicator here will be Michael Vick's contract. If the Eagles opt to extend it after a good performance against the Jaguars this Sunday (or in the next few weeks after that), chances are that Kevin Kolb could be sporting another uniform before the season is over.