Remember Matt Barkley? The Philadelphia Eagles certainly do and they are ready to raise his spot on the depth chart next season. The former USC standout felt like an odd choice with the Eagles drafted him in 2013 considering he was the exact opposite of the type of quarterback Chip Kelly is used to working with. However, he is exactly like Nick Foles and that is the direction the team is headed in.
Barkley spent his entire rookie season on the bench sitting behind both Foles and Michael Vick. However, that does not mean the Eagles were not pleased with what they saw from the quarterback. As Vick prepares to move on, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Barkley will be the No. 2 quarterback next season.
"You always want to be in a spot where you compete for a starting job," Barkley said, via Philly.com. "I don't think you ever want to settle for being a backup. Sometimes that's just the way it is. I don't know what next year's going to look like. Still a lot of questions to be answered. But I think my job is to compete and strive for being the starting quarterback."
Barkley's stats for the season are four interceptions and no touchdowns. He stepped in twice for Foles, compling 61 percent of his passes, but turnovers plagued his outlook. However, the quarterback remains confident in his abilities and so do the Eagles. Kelly praised Barkley's poise throughout training camp and believes that with more reps and practice time, he can truly develop into a strong option.
"Matt was awesome," Kelly said. "I'm excited to get a full offseason with Matt in here to really get a chance to work with him because I think he's got a skill set that's exciting when you see him, how the ball comes out of his hands, the decisions that he makes, and that's part of this whole deal."
Barkley is confident that this offseason will allow him to truly improve. The quarterback was limited for much of the NFL draft and training camp after undergoing shoulder surgery on his throwing arm. He admitted that he was not truly healthy which hurt his progress, but that will not be an issue this time around.
The endorsement of Barkley once again reinforces the idea that Vick's career in Philadelphia is over. The quarterback is set on becoming a free agent this offseason and while he has stated his intentions on being a starter once again, he has also said a return to the Eagles as a backup is not out of the question. However, the Eagles are ready to move on and send Vick on his way. Earlier last week, the quarterback made headlines saying he was open to a return to the Atlanta Falcons, something also is unlikely to happen.
Heading into 2014, the Eagles like what they have in both Foles and Barkley. Kelly has said that he can never have too many quarterbacks so it seems likely another will join the roster, it just might not be Vick.