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As a fun little exercise, I figured it would be interesting to explore Kevin Kolb's trade value, should Andy Reid decide to take his benching decision one step further and rid himself of the young quarterback entirely. He has already declined to go on the record stating that Kolb will be with the team past the trade deadline, so anything is possible.
To get a handle on what the Eagles could get in return for Kolb, let's take a look at the quarterback trades that have happened throughout the season so far. We'll start off waaaaay back on March 9th, when Seneca Wallace awoke to suddenly find himself in a Browns uniform.
Seneca Wallace
Trade: Seahawks to Browns
Value: Conditional 7th round pick in 2011
Analysis: You can't really get much less for a veteran quarterback with 14 games of starting experience, but let's face it, at 30 years old, Wallace ain't exactly a player to build your franchise around.
Brady Quinn
Trade: Browns to Broncos
Value: FB Peyton Hillis, 6th round pick in 2011, conditional pick in 2012
Analysis: As any fantasy football player will tell you, Peyton Hillis has turned out to be a pretty valuable asset to the Browns. At the time of the Brady Quinn trade, however, he was not much more than a Charles Scott-eque fullback getting lost in the shuffle. Still, two late round draft picks and a depth player aren't a bad exchange for a quarterback with 67.2 passer rating last season.
Shaun Hill
Value: 7th round pick in 2011
Analysis: Unlike the Seneca Wallace trade, I think the 49ers received exactly what Hill was worth here.
Charlie Whitehurst (plus 60th overall pick)
Trade: Chargers to Seahawks
Value: 40th overall pick, 3rd round pick in 2011
Analysis: Here is the most comparable trade that I can find to a potential Kolb deal. At the time of the trade Charlie Whitehurst was one of the most (if not the most) unproven quarterbacks in the NFL. In four years of playing for the Chargers behind Philip Rivers, he accumulated stats in exactly two regular season games. Both were in his rookie year, and both were rushing plays. That being said, one was a 14-yard scramble for a touchdown, but still, it wasn't exactly a showcase of his talent as a quarterback. Nevertheless, the Chargers managed to turn Whitehurst, who was never going to get a chance to start anyway, into a mid-round pick next year and a move up to the 40th overall pick (which, by the way subsequently was used to trade up for Ryan Mathews). If we were to trade Kolb - and Tom Heckert didn't give up his promised two first rounders - this level of compensation is likely what we could expect.
Donovan McNabb
Trade: Eagles to Redskins
Value: 37th overall pick, conditional 3rd/4th round pick in 2011
Analysis: Let's face it: this trade has been analyzed to death.
Byron Leftwich
Trade: Buccaneers to Steelers
Value: 7th round pick
Analysis: For a solid backup quarterback, the Bucs received very little in the way of compensation. However, the fact that Leftwich was likely to be cut anyway factors pretty heavily into the deal.
Jason Campbell
Trade: Redskins to Raiders
Value: 4th round pick in 2012
Analysis: After McNabb made his way to Washington, everyone knew Campbell was a goner. The Redskins, apparently thinking far into the future, made out with a fourth round pick for their former starter. Now, after Bruce Gradkowski has taken over the starting job after only a week and a half of a Campbell-led offense, this trade is starting to look pretty Washington-friendly after all.
John Beck
Trade: Redskins to Ravens
Value: CB Doug Dutch
Analysis: Much like the J.J. Arrington/Joe Mays trade that the Eagles underwent during the preseason, the Ravens and Redskins swapped one scrub for another. The only difference here is that the Ravens weren't lucky enough to have a draft pick clause in their agreement. Dutch is now a free agent.
Sage Rosenfels (plus WR Darius Reynaud)
Value: 5th round pick in 2011, conditional pick in 2012
Analysis: For a quarterback on the wrong side of 30 with only 12 starts to his name, the Vikings managed to make out pretty well with two future draft picks. They did have to throw in WR/KR Darius Reynaud, but with Percy Harvin averaging 27.5 yards per return and 2 return TDs last year, I don't think the Vikings are going to shed any tears over his departure. They simply caught the Giants in a desperate situation after Jim Sorgi went down for the year and were able to come away with a pretty good value for their veteran backup.
So, what do you think the Eagles could get in exchange for Kevin Kolb?