Kolb Trade Official; Ex-Card Says DRC Great Pickup
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
Kolb Trade Official; Ex-Card Says DRC Great Pickup
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
After a whole bunch of waiting, it is what we thought it was, to mangle a paraphrase from former Cardinals coach Denny Green.
The Eagles have confirmed that the trade of Kevin Kolb to the Cardinals is happening, for corner Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second-round pick. ESPN 97.5 radio reporter Adam Caplan says Kolb has agreed to a $63 million contract extension with Arizona, over 5 years, about $20 million guaranteed.
Eagles corner-kick returner Jorrick Calvin was a Cardinals rookie last year, before being traded to the Eagles Aug. 30 Rodgers-Cromartie recently mentioned Calvin as his only friend on the Eagles. Calvin was happy to hear the trade confirmed.
"That's my dude!" Calvin said. "Real good guy, real good person ... He brings a lot of speed, real good coverage ability, (he's) a lockdown corner.
"He took me under his wing when I got to Arizona, he taught me a lot of things at corner, taught me how to be a good pro -- making good decisions, on and off the field. That was one of the guys I really looked up to in Arizona."
Rodgers-Cromartie, anointed last night by Andy Reid as the right side starter though he has primarily played the left for the Cards, will have to learn Juan Castillo's defense on the fly.
"He's a real smart guy at corner," Calvin said. "It will be no problem for him to come in and learn the defense."
Observers were starting to compare the Kolb trade talks to Congress's debates on the debt ceiling.
"I think process takes a long time, whatever you do," Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said, when asked about the negotiations. "You want to make sure that you're exploring all options for your team and getting the best possible outcome for both sides."
"It's a busy time, We're constantly looking at options and evaluating options. We're not done," Roseman said. He didn't want to talk about other possible moves, but you have to think if Vince Young is being released, as reported, the Eagles would have interest as a backup. Running back Darren Sproles and lionebacker Stephen Tulloch also have been linked to the Birds.
Kolb, drafted in the second round in 2007, a year ago was opening camp as the designated successor to Donovan McNabb. But he suffered a concussion in the season opener and lost the job to Michael Vick.
Reports about a Kolb trade involving Rodgers-Cromartie began to surface before the 2011 draft in April, at a time when the lockout prevented teams from trading players. Trades were allowed starting Tuesday morning, and fans grew frustrated that Kolb hadn't been dealt. But the Cardinals probably did not want to part unconditonally with a second-round pick, a pretty prized commodity in the NFL. The Eagles probably had to do some squeezing.
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Also today, the Eagles have placed Brandon Graham and Winston Justice on the physically unable to perform list for the start of camp. Asante Samuel and Jeremy Maclin were excused from reporting and practicing today for personal reasons.
Corner Trevard Lindley and left tackle Jason Peters left the afternoon practice early. Peters was sweating profusely.
Great trade for both teams. This made too much sense not to get done. DRC is a Pro Bowler and we get a high draft pick, too. Nice work.— Phront_Runner- @JBinPA....the joke is on you fool. Just because the guy didnt win MVP doesnt mean he doesnt have a chance to be great. Considering all the great players that have played QB in the NFL ONLY Kolb threw two 300 yard games in his first two starts. Meaning he has flashed greatness. As with any younger player he flashed stupidity too. The only true flat out stupid thing here, is your stupid funny guy comment. If other NFL SCOUTS you know, people that get paid to actually watch these guys thought this highly of Kolb to trade DRC and a 2nd, PLUS give Kolb 60 mill...they obviously see something in him. You, your opinion, mean nothing considering you are probably a cashier at Wendys.— silrock27
- @LMUNIZ
you are probably one of the idiots that said bringing in an old brett favre as a back up would be a dumb idea. Yet you want to bring in a dude just as old in Garcia who hasnt played with us since 2006 and hasnt played in the nfl in almost 3 years. THANK YOU GOD THAT YOU ARE NOT IN THE EAGLES FRONT OFFICE.— silrock27 - Damn that wikipedia is fast. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominique_Rodgers-Cromartie— Gigs1777
- I want to like this deal. But if Rodgers-Cromartie lives up to his reputation as a Pop Warner-league hitter, I'm having WWF-style shirts printed that say "DRC & Assante: The Flying Arm Tacklers" Place your orders below...— GhostOfJeromeBrown99
- Good trade but I'm concerned who will be the backup quarterback.— fanup
John Clayton (ESPN) is a Nerd— attila- Good trade for both teams. The Cromartie kid HAS to be an upgrade over the shmuck that started there last year. And all the best wishes in the world to a VERY tough, talented and agressive yong QB in K2!Hope he leads them back to the playoffs. Meanwhile, OUR defense still needs a LOT of work. (IE...better players.)— TBear
- Who cares about the backup quarterback. If Vick goes down so does any shot at winning the super bowl anyway, regardless who the backup is— stikolaboloni
- I know he's not big on tackling but does he bat right handed?— txflyer
- Delighted to get rid of Kolb, but it boosts Fitzgerald for Fantasy players.— 2smart4philly
- Kolb got a six year 63 million deal from the Cardinales. He said he is planning to send a thank you card to the Philly sports writers and the dum dums on these blogs for making him a multi millionaire. Let me know when you guys start worrying about Kafka and want him out of town. I can get him a sweet deal out west. Let the games begin.— marioP
- The fates of both teams, Cardinales & Eagles will depend on the quarterbacks. No excuses. We will find out in January which general manager was the smart one and who was the dunce.— marioP
- The Eagles arguably got much more for Kolb than they got for the Vomiting Viking last spring.— dasher
- Reid screwed Kolb. I hope Kolb wins the superbowl.— anniea
