The Philadelphia Eagles have been one of the most active teams this offseason and head coach Chip Kelly may continue in that direction, as Matt Barkley has been put on the trade block after the team traded for Sam Bradford and the Eagles may look at signing free agent quarterback Tim Tebow if Barkley is traded and this likely means Kelly is not targeting Marcus Mariota in the draft.
Kelly has made some big moves this offseason, including trading away LeSean McCoy and Nick Foles for Kiko Alonso and Sam Bradford in separate deals. Kelly was given control over the personnel decisions for the Eagles this offseason and he has put his stamp on the roster. DeMarco Murray was signed after the Frank Gore deal fell through and now Kelly may reshape the QB situation again. According to Pro Football Talk, the Eagles are willing to trade Barkley for a "late round" draft pick this offseason.
The Eagles worked out quarterback Tim Tebow this offseason and NBC Washington's Dianna Marie Russini later reported that the team was interested in signing him. Russini reports that the Eagles will look at bringing in Tebow if they trade Barkley and there also is a chance that the team could cut Barkley if he is not traded. Barkley is making a six figure salary and he is not likely to get much playing time anyway after the team signed back Mark Sanchez and added Bradford.
Kelly has been mentioned in connection to Mariota since the middle of the season, as he previously was his head coach at Oregon. Many speculated after Kelly made the trade with Foles that it was one of a number of moves the team would make to go get Mariota in the draft. Mariota appears to be a good fit for Kelly's system and he has made moves this year with McCoy that have been about getting the right players. Kelly came out and said to the media that Bradford would not be a trade chip and that the Eagles would not "mortgage" the future on one player.
While Kelly did sound convincing, ESPN's Josina Anderson reported that some coaches around the league still think that he will move up for Mariota. The Cleveland Browns have reportedly been interested in trading for Sam Bradford and if that happens, the Eagles could get a first round pick to play with if they want to go for Mariota. Kelly does things his own way and while Bradford likely will be the starter after what Kelly gave up to get him, anything can happen in the month leading into the draft.
Barkley only had one pass attempt last season despite Nick Foles being injured and in 2013 he played in three games and had 50 attempts, passing for 300 yards. The Eagles could look at getting a draft pick for Barkley, but it wouldn't be a major issue to release him if they really want to sign Tebow. No one else is looking to sign Tebow right now, which allows the Eagles to wait and see if they can deal Barkley.
