The Philadelphia Eagles have Matt Barkley on the trade block and if he is traded, the team could look at signing free agent Tim Tebow and this comes as reports have Chip Kelly interested in Marcus Mariota in the draft and he could trade Sam Bradford in the hopes of moving up to get his former Oregon quarterback.
The Eagles have been one of the most active teams in the offseason and this comes as Kelly has received full control over the roster. Last season Howie Roseman was the main personnel man, but this year Kelly was put in charge of the roster and he has been exerting that power. Kelly shocked many by trading LeSean McCoy for Kiko Alonso and he also added DeMarco Murray and Byron Maxwell in significant deals.
The team may not be done dealing either, as NBC Washington's Dianna Marie Russini reports that the team is shopping Matt Barkley in a trade this offseason. Kelly drafted Barkley in his first year with the team and he has not played much over two seasons. Barkley was the third string quarterback behind Mark Sanchez and Nick Foles last season and he ended up playing in just one game despite Foles getting injured.
The Eagles also could be interested in trading up for Marcus Mariota, which has been reported on all offseason by ESPN and other outlets. NJ.com reported early in the offseason that the Eagles were plotting "multiple moves" to trade up and get Mariota in the draft, but that was before the Sam Bradford deal. Once Bradford was acquired, speculation about Mariota continued, but Kelly later came out and said to the media that Bradford would not be used as a trade chip.
Russini writes that the team also is interested in adding Tim Tebow on a free agent deal after working him out last month. Tebow has not been with an NFL team since his summer stint with the Patriots and the Eagles called the workout doing "homework" on the quarterback. Russini writes that there is an "80 percent chance" that the Eagles look to sign Tebow if they can trade Barkley. Chris Mortensen on Twitter later reported that the Eagles would be willing to take a "high draft pick" for Barkley.
The team can simply release Barkley and sign Tebow without any big financial penalty, but Kelly likely will look at trying to get a pick before making a move. The team may want to move up for Mariota and any extra draft picks could help that and since no one is itching to sign Tebow anyway, the team can be patient with what they decide to do on Barkley.
Marcus Mariota is getting a ton of attention heading into the draft and along with the Eagles, reports have the Cleveland Browns, NY Jets, Chicago Bears and Redskins interested. The Browns have two first round picks and the most selections in the draft and that could allow them to make a move. Brett Hundley could be a backup option for the teams that miss on Mariota, but the quarterback likely will be the second player at his position of the board. If the Eagles don't move up for Mariota, Bradford will be the clear starter over Mark Sanchez.