The Eagles have been linked to a number of quarterbacks during the pre-draft process, but according to general manager Howie Roseman the team is plenty confident in its franchise signal caller in Michael Vick.
"We have so much confidence in Michael Vick leading our team. The way that he works and the determination he has, we're all in with Michael," Roseman said during a roundtable session with reporters on Thursday.
"Michael is still a young quarterback. He looks great to me. He's healthy and he's determined. We feel very lucky to have him as our franchise quarterback."
The 31-year-old Vick is coming off of his second straight season of at least 3,000 passing yards and 500 rushing yards. Only one other quarterback in NFL history has more than one such season and that's former Eagle Randall Cunningham, who had three (1988-90).
Vick is 15-9 in regular season games as the starting quarterback of the Eagles. At the end of the 2011 campaign, Vick returned from injury to lead the Eagles to four straight wins. For the first time in his career as a starting quarterback, he put together a string of three straight games with a QB rating of at least 100. The 2012 offseason will be Vick's first as the starting quarterback of the Eagles while having access to the team facilities.
Just a year ago, the Eagles were also rumored to be interested in the top quarterback prospects, but the team didn't draft a single one. It's easy to see why showing interest in the top-tier quarterback prospects would create such a stir. However, Roseman noted that most franchise quarterbacks are going to come from the top of the draft.
"Everyone wants to find a quarterback. You talk about the history and the league as it is now, it's a passing league and you don't feel very confident that you can win in the long term if you don't have that guy," Roseman said.
The last top pick the Eagles used on a quarterback was a second-round selection on Kevin Kolb in 2007. The Eagles knew that JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn were going to be the top two quarterbacks selected in that draft, but they had Kolb rated as the top prospect. Before Vick took the league by storm again, Kolb was in line to be the starter in Philadelphia. If the Eagles use a second-round pick, they expect that player to eventually become a starter.
"In the second round, you're not into taking projections or guys you think have a chance to be a starter. You want to at least go into it and when you're picking him know that your evaluation of this player is he's going to be a starter," Roseman said.
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