The Philadelphia Eagles have pulled a trade with Matt Barkley to the Arizona Cardinals for a conditional draft pick and that could mean Tim Tebow is going to make the final 53-man roster for Chip Kelly this season. There have been reports that the Denver Broncos may try and trade Montee Ball and a team like the Dallas Cowboys could be an option.
Barkley had been on the trade block all summer and with reports saying Kelly was "excited" to have Tebow, it was looking like Barkley would be the player to go. According to Adam Schefter at ESPN, the Eagles traded Barkley to the Cardinals for a conditional seventh round pick. The conditions have Barkley needing to be on the roster in Arizona for six games.
According to Pro Football Talk, reports from Vic Lombardi of 104.3 The Fan and Benjamin Allbright of Mile High Sports 1430 AM have the Broncos and the Cowboys talking a deal for Ball. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media later reported that there are no talks going on. Either way, recent reports have had the Cowboys looking for another running back once roster cuts happen and Ball could be a fit.
Barkley now provides some solid insurance behind Carson Palmer after the way things went down for the Cardinals last season. Barkley is not a great QB by any stretch, but he can be a competent third string backup and now he has the chance in Arizona. Tebow now could make the roster for the Eagles, as he outplayed Barkley in the fourth preseason game against the Jets, throwing two touchdowns and over 100 yards passing.
Check here for more on the trade with Barkley and the talk on Ball.
Mark Sanchez is locked in as the backup quarterback after playing that role last season and he comes in after a down performance in Week 1 of the preseason, but that wasn't an issue for the Eagles. Sanchez likely was not beat out by either Barkley or Tebow and those two players previously had enough to worry about with just making the roster. Tebow is likely in and he comes in after he had an early rushing touchdown in the preseason, but in the game he only completed half of his 12 passes and had 69 yards passing in the game. Tebow looked better than Barkley in Week 4.
Barkley looked better than Tebow in the earlier preseason game with 12-of-20 passes for 192 yards and one interception, but that wasn't enough to keep his job. Barkley did not look good on Thursday and now he is with the Cardinals, as the Eagles are not keeping four quarterbacks. Barkley has had more time in this system than Tebow and he has been in the league the past two years, while Tebow has been out of the NFL, but clearly Kelly wants Tebow around.
Barkley has only thrown 50 passes in the last two seasons for the Eagles. Philly Mag: Birds 24/7 made a prediction that Tebow will not be on the 53-man roster this season, but that has not ended up correct. Tim McManus wrote that if Barkley is traded it means Tebow will be on the roster and clearly things have played out and now Barkley is gone.
