Market key to Kolb compensation
A few things to get to today...
Jonathan Tamari mentioned this over at Birds' Eye View, but in case you missed it, Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic recently offered his perspective on the Kevin Kolb/Cardinals rumors:
There is no question the Cardinals are interested, and I get the feeling Kolb is their first choice to be their starter in 2011.
The Cardinals liked Kolb when he was coming out of the University of Houston, and he has the type of personality (gym rat) that Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt likes in a quarterback.
The Cardinals are leery, however, of what the Eagles might want for Kolb. If the Eagles want to use the Schaub trade as a template, I think the Cardinals would be interested.
Somers points out that such a deal might include a pair of second-round picks for Kolb.
A few things to note here. One is that Somers brings up a good point about compensation. The way I see it, the biggest factor that will determine what the Eagles get for Kolb is the market.
Right now, the Cardinals are the team most often mentioned as a potential Kolb suitor. That could change, but it appears the Seahawks are exploring other options at quarterback. And teams like the Dolphins, Redskins, Browns and Bills have not been linked to Kolb since the draft.
If the Cardinals are the only team showing serious interest, and the Eagles can't find another partner willing to give up a first-rounder, my guess is they'd be willing to settle for a pair of second-rounders.
This is where the lockout really hurt the Eagles. If they had been able to work on a trade a couple months ago, more teams would have been in the mix, and the market would have allowed for better compensation. But now that the market has thinned, the Eagles have lost some leverage.
Also keep in mind that since we are likely talking about 2012 picks (and perhaps beyond), the compensation could be based on Kolb's performance. The Eagles received a 2011 fourth-rounder for Donovan McNabb, but that would have been a third-round pick if one of two things happened:
1. McNabb was selected to the Pro Bowl.
2. The Redskins won nine games, and McNabb played at least 70 percent of the snaps.
Given the offseason landscape, the Eagles will have to get creative. Perhaps a similar-type arrangement would work in a potential Kolb deal.
WHERE DOES LURIE RANK?
ESPN.com recently ranked the top owners in the NFL. Jeffrey Lurie came in at No. 5. The top four in order were: the Rooney Family (Steelers); Robert Kraft (the Patriots); the Packers' executive committee; and Mara/Tisch (the Giants).
You may notice that Lurie is the only owner ranked in the top five without a Super Bowl ring. Actually, he's the only owner in the top eight to have not won a title.
REDSKINS LOOKING TO SPEND
Yesterday, I mentioned reports that the Eagles, Redskins and Cowboys could be competing with each other for the services of cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.
Mikes Jones of The Washington Post writes that the Redskins "have money to spend and are champing at the bit, according to people inside the organization."
With no 2011 rules in place, we don't know what the salary cap will be or whether there will even be one, so it's tough to say which teams will be in the best position to spend.
But the Redskins seem to make a splash in free agency every offseason, and it would hardly be surprising if they took a run at Asomugha.
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