Head coach Andy Reid declared at the end of the 2009 season that Donovan McNabb was his starting quarterback.
Reid was certainly telling the truth at the time. How could he know that the Redskins would offer the fifth pick of the second round of the upcoming draft along with a conditional pick (possibly a third-round selection) for 2011?
"It's very hard to predict the future in this league," Reid said. "I couldn't have told you at that time that this was going to happen. I was honest with you that I listened and, again, I did what I thought and what Joe (Banner) and Howie (Roseman) and Jeffrey (Lurie) and what we all thought was best for this organization."
Reid could tell that there would be some teams contacting the Eagles about their quarterbacks this off-season. As the 2009 season concluded, the three quarterbacks on the roster each had one year left on his respective contract. McNabb is a six-time Pro Bowl quarterback with five NFC title game appearances. While it's not a Super Bowl, it's far more than most of the quarterbacks in the league combined. Michael Vick has proven he can take a team deep in the postseason. Kevin Kolb showed in his two starts this past season that he is ready to be a starter in the NFL.
And sure enough, the phones were alive at the NovaCare Complex.
"We had interest (from other teams) in all three. We sat back and we evaluated. It wasn't any more complicated than that," Reid said.
The reports had teams like Oakland and Buffalo as the places where McNabb would most likely land. Other places like Minnesota, San Francisco and Arizona made the most sense.
The Redskins?
"It's been a long process here. Listening and evaluating all three quarterbacks but obviously things started to escalate here the last few days," Reid said.
The Eagles were trying to accomplish two objectives in the process. Not only did they want to receive the best compensation for McNabb, but they also took into consideration where he desired to play.
"I think our organization felt that way about him. So, we wanted to inevitably do what was good for us and good for Donovan," Reid said. "If you could find a nice mix there, then that's what we would do. We felt that was the situation.""
That doesn't mean the Eagles missed out a very good deal.
"I will tell you this - the fifth pick in the second round is not a bad pick,"" Reid said. ""In particular, the way the draft is set up now, when you can kind of take a deep breath after the first day and re-evaluate what you have for the next day, that's kind of a nice pick there."
But could the Eagles have done better? Why not wait until the week before the draft when a team might throw a bona fide first-round pick at the Eagles?
"You have to have a feel on that," Reid said. "Like I said, it has been a long process here. You have to have a feel when it's going to come to this point where you can make the final decision and this was the day."
Last year, it was a bold move that took place the week before the draft that netted the left tackle of the present and future in Jason Peters. This year, the Eagles proved that they are not afraid to take a step into the unknown that is life without McNabb. But with 11 draft picks and a talented young nucleus, this team has the ability to load up for the present and the future.
-- Posted by Chris McPherson, 2:26 a.m., April 5
