Eagles Offseason Overview: Quarterback

During the next two weeks, The Inquirer will preview the Eagles' offseason. Free agency begins on March 10, and the draft is April 30-May 2. 

Mon, March 2: Defensive line; Tues., March 3: Outside linebacker; Wed., March 4: Inside linebacker; Thurs., March 5: Cornerback; Fri., March 6: Safeties

UNDER CONTRACT

The Eagles have three quarterbacks under contract this offseason: Nick Foles, Matt Barkley, and G.J. Kinne.   

Foles is entering his fourth season, and has proven that he can be – at the very least – a solid starting quarterback in the league. When he's at his best, he can be one of the better quarterbacks. The evaluation the Eagles need to make is whether he can consistently be one of the better ones.

The Eagles have won 14 of 18 regular-season games Foles started under Chip Kelly. He has outstanding size, a good arm, is a hard worker, and a trustworthy player. Foles is committed to getting better, and he's well regarded in the Eagles' building. Those are all positive attributes – especially in determining whether you want to invest long-term in a quarterback.  And he's only 26.

It would have been unrealistic to expect Foles to match his 2013 numbers in 2014, although there were areas of concern. In particular, the turnovers and accuracy were problems last season. He finished with 13 turnovers (10 interceptions, three lost fumbles) in eight games. His completion percentage also dropped to 59.8 percent. Those are problem signs. The other issue is durability. Foles has now been injured in four of the past five seasons, dating back to college. Even if the injuries are independent of each other, that's a trend.

Considering how hard it is to find a quarterback with Foles' production, he is the front-runner to be the starter next season. But it's not a foregone conclusion, and neither Kelly nor owner Jeffrey Lurie gave Foles a full endorsement after the season.

Barkley, a 2013 fourth-round pick, attempted only one pass last season. He's been relegated to No. 3 in his first two seasons, and he's no closer to starting than the day he was drafted. After two seasons, Barkley needs to either be a viable option as the team's backup quarterback, or the Eagles could move on. There are attributes there that Kelly liked, but entering his third season, he shouldn't be the third-string developmental quarterback anymore. It's time for Barkley to either move up on the depth chart, or find a different team.

Kinne, 26, has spent the past two seasons on practice squad. He knows the system, but he has not been able to earn a roster spot yet. It could be hard for him to do it this season, depending on how the Eagles address this position during the offseason.

ROSTER DECISIONS

The only free agent quarterback on the roster is Mark Sanchez. Sanchez gave the Eagles about what they could hope for from a backup quarterback last season. In 8 ½ games, he threw 14 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, completing 64.1 percent of his passes while going 4-4 as a starter. That makes him one of the better backup quarterbacks in the league – but doesn't quite put him in position to start in Philadelphia.

However, he showed enough to go somewhere else and compete for a starting job. A starting job likely won't be available to Sanchez in Philadelphia, so the only way they'd re-sign him would be if both sides are interested in a similar role to last season. Sanchez would also be a good option to the Eagles if they traded for a rookie to potentially start.

The biggest offseason decision on the Eagles' entire roster is what to do at starting quarterback – whether it's commit to Foles, trade up for Marcus Mariota, or go with another rookie (such as Brett Hundley) in the first two rounds to try to develop into the starter.

FREE AGENT OPTIONS

This is not a good year to try to upgrade at starting quarterback through the free agent market. In fact, Sanchez is probably the top quarterback entering the market. Beyond him, Josh McCown, Brian Hoyer, and Michael Vick are all veterans with worthwhile starting experience. But they are not the type of quarterbacks that would inspire confidence as a starter. Hoyer helped the Browns win games last season, although his numbers late in the season hurt his stock.

If the Eagles are looking for a young change-of-scenery type quarterbacks similar to Sanchez last season, there are two former first-round picks that could be interesting.

The first is Jake Locker, who will turn 27 in June. Kelly coached against Locker in college, and Locker has athleticism and raw ability that could be developed. But there's a reason the former No. 8 overall pick is available. Locker has completed only 57.5 percent of his passes, and his durability is a major concern. He is 9-14 as a starter over the past three seasons. If Kelly thinks a change of scenery in a better offense with more talent around him could help, Locker could be an intriguing fit. He was one of the top athletic performer in the 2011 combine – Locker ran the 40-yard dash in 4.59 seconds and was also the top performer on the three-cone drill. But Kelly looks for repeatable accuracy, and Locker has not presented that to date in his career.

Another option could be Christian Ponder, who flamed out in Minnesota despite helping them to the playoffs in 2012. Ponder has a 14-21-1 record in four seasons. In 2012, he went 10-6 while completing 62.1 percent of his passes and throwing for 18 touchdowns and 12 touchdowns. He showed decent mobility throughout his career. Similar to Locker, though, there's a reason Ponder is available after the Vikings invested the No. 12 overall pick in him just four years earlier. He would be another change-of-scenery player who could compete for a backup spot.

DRAFT OPTIONS

The top two quarterbacks in the draft are Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota. Winston is the likely No. 1 pick, so let's move on Mariota. You might have heard about him. Mariota offers so many attributes that would be appealing in the Eagles' offense, and the concerns about him translating to the NFL are not as relevant in Philadelphia because the Eagles don't huddle, operate almost exclusively out of shotgun, and use spread concepts. The problem is the Eagles pick No. 20. There are three variables that Kelly simply cannot control in a pursuit of Mariota:

1)   If one of the top two teams wants him, the point is moot. The two quarterbacks could go with the top two picks, and if both of those teams want quarterbacks, then it doesn't matter how much the Eagles like him.

2)   Who else wants him? A team trading down – whether it's No. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 – might be more inclined to move to 10 or 12 than they would be move to to 20.

3)   Finally, the asking price. There's a trade value chart, of course, but in any negotiation, you want leverage. The Eagles don't have the leverage here. If they're held hostage for an exorbitant price, it might be imprudent to pay it. And a team drafting high might not want to move out of range for a Top 10 player regardless of price.

That doesn't mean the Eagles won't try to do everything they can. The next two months will show what the market is for Mariota, and whether it's even possible. If Mariota falls to No. 5 or 6 and those teams are willing to trade, then the Julio Jones trade from 2011 (Two firsts, one second, and two fourths) would be a good template to use.

Moving onto the other quarterbacks in the draft…

… Pay attention to Brett Hundley. The UCLA standout was actually a top choice of Kelly's out of high school, but Hundley passed on Oregon. His offense had spread elements at UCLA, and he has many physical traits a team would want: 6-foot-3, 226 pounds, 10 ½-inch hands, 4.63 40-yard dash, and a good arm. Hundley is also clean off the field with many of the qualities a team seeks. The questions are about reading defenses, operating in the pocket, and moving past his first read. But he could be the third quarterback taken, and there are enough tools there that Kelly could bite.

Baylor's Bryce Petty had a good weekend throwing at the combine. He also comes from a spread-based offense, so there are questions about how translating to a pro-style system. Again, those issues are not as significant in the Eagles' offense, although he'd still need to be able to read NFL teams. Petty has functional mobility, but he doesn't have the speed of Mariota or Hundley.

If you're looking for potential late-round picks who could be projects, Nevada's Cody Fajardo, Southeastern Louisiana's Bryan Bennett, and South Alabama's Brandon Bridge might fit that description. Fajardo, who is 6-2 and 215 pounds and ran a 4.63-second 40, threw for over 9,000 yards and rushed for over 3,000 yards in his college career. Colin Kaepernick is the only other quarterback to do so.

Bennett actually played for Kelly at Oregon and transferred after failing to beat Mariota for the starting job (understandable, considering Mariota had one of the most storied college careers in recent history). He transferred to Southeastern Louisiana, where he had a productive career in a small conference. Bennett has a strong arm and solid athleticism without top speed.

Bridge, a Canadian native, is a major project – but the tools could be enticing. He is 6-foot-4 and 229 pounds, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.72 seconds, and has one of the best arms in the draft. He just doesn't have the pocket instincts or mechanics that teams look for a quarterback, so it comes down to whether a coach thinks there's another talent there to invest the time and work as a developmental quarterback.