WOULD RATHER BE IN CLEARWATER
Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb said during a South Beach appearance on ESPN SportsCenter tonight that he hopes teammate Michael Vick gets a chance to play elsewhere next season.
“I don’t know what particular team,” McNabb said. “I just hope he has an opportunity to be a starter for another team. I think he definitely deserves that and he has done a great job of getting himself together and preparing himself for this opportunity and I think he is going to flourish in it.”
The Eagles have an $1.25 million option on Vick’s 2010 contract. If they do not exercise that option by March 5, Vick will be an unrestricted free agent. The Eagles would no doubt love to trade Vick for a draft pick, but it remains to be seen if they can find a suitor.
McNabb also reiterated that he plans to be back with the Eagles next season.
“Green and white,” was his answer to the question about where he’d be in 2010 and he didn’t mean the New York Jets. “This was a year where we continued to improve and taken another step. We have a lot of talent around us and … hopefully we’ll find ourselves in this (Super Bowl) game next year.”
The Eagles’ quarterback also said he expects Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts to beat the New Orleans Saints by 17 points in Super Bowl XLIV.
An attempt to talk to McNabb after the SportsCenter segment was unsuccessful because he was quickly whisked off in a private car provided by ESPN.
Eagles hire Savage
Phil Savage, the former general manager of the Cleveland Browns, joined the Eagles’ player personnel department yesterday as a consultant.
“I’ve always admired the work Phil Savage has done,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said in a statement. “After spending time with him this past year, I realized how well we could work together. Phil is an excellent talent evaluator and having an extra set of eyes for us to utilize will definitely help our scouting staff as we prepare for the draft. He’s spent time working on the draft class already, so … I thought it was a slam dunk when the opportunity was there for us to add him to our staff.”
Savage, 44, held the title of senior vice president and general manager from 2005 through 2008 with the Browns, who were 24-40 in that stretch. Savage spent last season as a color analyst for the University of Alabama’s football games.
“This is a great opportunity for me to get back in the NFL,” Savage said in a statement. “This is a great opportunity for me to get back in the NFL. I’m really excited about the role the Eagles have afforded and I’m ready to help Howie and the rest of their scouting staff in the best way I possibly can.”
Before joining the Browns, Savage spent nine seasons with Baltimore, working as the director of college scouting and the director of player personnel.
