IS TAKING DOC TO SEE THE DOC
EARLIER: Around the time of the draft, an interesting rumor circulated -- that the Eagles had reached agreement with the Arizona Cardinals on a trade for quarterback Kevin Kolb, a deal that would net the Eagles starting corner Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie. Of course, teams weren't allowed to make trades then, even in the brief period when an injunction lifted the NFL lockout. The Eagles denied having any sort of deal in place.
Of course, teams also deny having deals in place with free agents before the free agent signing period starts every year, and yet, uncannily, complex, big-bucks contracts get signed in the opening minutes. Soooo...
The Rodgers-Cromartie rumor, which originally didn't find much traction out in Arizona, is all the rage in the desert right now. An Arizona reporter contacted me about it Monday, noting that he couldn't get anybody from the Cardinals to outright deny it. Then another Arizona reporter -- Mike Jurecki, who also is a XTRA910 radio talk show host - stated flatly on the air: "Kevin Kolb is the guy. Cardinals are prepared to offer DRC straight up...according to source."
Obviously, the Eagles still aren't going to say anything about this. And I'm not sure why the Cards would, but I do know the lockout is close to ending. And the Eagles are going to trade Kolb. And Arizona is the most likely destination. And a starting-quality corner who has been chosen for the Pro Bowl (year before last) is something the Eagles could use.
Rodgers-Cromartie, drafted 16th overall in 2008, is 6-2, 185. He and Asante Samuel would form a shutdown corner tandem. The absolutely ideal fit opposite Samuel would be a strong tackler, which Rodgers-Cromartie really isn't, but hey, you can't have everything. His numbers were down last season, the Cards drafted Patrick Peterson. Rodgers-Cromartie is light years ahead of what the Eagles put out there opposite Samuel last year, and probably better than anything available in free agency, other than Nnamdi Asomugha.
And of course, the Cards wouldn't be getting a slam-dunk sure thing either. I think Kolb can be a solid NFL quarterback. If he were going to be a superstar, the team would be crazy to deal him.
Is this really the Kolb deal? Interesting that the rumor won't die. It sure makes sense to me.
Les
Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News
since 2002.
Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les
only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no
penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite
what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News
from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much
lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their
two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
E-mail Les at bowenl@phillynews.com
and follow
him on Twitter.
Paul
Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982.
He has spent most of his nearly 3 decades with the paper covering the
Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a
selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre
and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo started his career in Texas,
working first for the Midland Reporter-Telegram (1976-78), and then for
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas
Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually was
boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose 2 sports coats to
blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley,
a University of Oklahoma grad who still hasn’t gotten over
that Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State 5 years ago, have 2 terrific
daughters -- Allison, 28, who is an attorney in South Jersey, and Amy,
25, who works in administration for a professional baseball team.
E-mail Domo at PDomo@aol.com and follow
him on Twitter.
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