The Philadelphia Eagles may target free agent Tim Tebow if they trade Matt Barkley this offseason and it comes after Chip Kelly made the big move for Sam Bradford, trading away starter Nick Foles and all these moves likely means that the Eagles will not be moving up in the draft to take Marcus Mariota despite the persistent rumors.
The Eagles have been one of the most active teams this offseason after trading away LeSean McCoy and adding Sam Bradford, DeMarco Murray and Byron Maxwell for Chip Kelly. This offseason Kelly was given full control over the Eagles roster and he has put his stamp on it already with the moves he has made. Bradford comes in after dealing with knee issues in St. Louis and the Eagles are expecting Murray to be the workhorse he was in Dallas last season.
The quarterback situation is the most intriguing and according to Pro Football Talk, the Eagles are eyeing Tim Tebow as a potential free agent target. The Eagles worked out Tebow a couple weeks ago and now reports from various media outlets have the team interested in signing him. According to Pro Football Talk, third stringer Matt Barkley is on the trading block and the Eagles would be willing to take a "late round pick" for him in a deal. Barkley did not play much behind Sanchez and Nick Foles last season.
According to Dianna Marie Russini of NBC Washington on Twitter, the Eagles will look at signing Tebow if they can work out a trade with Barkley. There is a chance the team could cut Barkley, but they will exhaust all their options in trying to trade him first before making that move. The Eagles called the Tebow workout doing their "homework" on the quarterback, but they likely have interest in adding him and could make the move after the draft in April.
The Eagles and Kelly have been connected to Mariota since the regular season, as Kelly was once the coach at Oregon and Mariota appears to be a perfect fit for his system. But after trading for Sam Bradford and also signing back Mark Sanchez, it's looking far less likely that the Eagles will trade up to draft Marcus Mariota. The Eagles gave up decent draft compensation for Bradford and Kelly came out to say that the team will not "mortgage the future" for one player.
Kelly has a unique offensive system and that is one reason why he has made so many moves this offseason. The Eagles originally were planning to sign Frank Gore before he backed out of the deal and that opened things up for Murray. The Eagles now could look at trading back in the draft to get some picks back, but they are likely to stay at their spot in the first round with a month out, as moving up to take Mariota could be too much for the team to give up.
The Eagles are also looking to add some wide receiver depth and Adam Schefter at ESPN reports that the team will look at adding Miles Austin as a free agent. NFL.com reports that if the physical passes with no red flags, the Eagles most likely will sign Austin. Last season Austin was with the Browns and he has dealt with injuries over the past few years while also playing for the Cowboys.
