Paul Domowitch: Need a quarterback? Give the Eagles a call

INDIANAPOLIS - Andy Reid figures to be a very popular guy at the NFL scouting combine this week, and not just because of that effervescent personality.

He has what so many other teams in the league want right now, what so many other teams need.

He has quarterbacks.

As the league's scouts and coaches descend on this Midwest city to scrutinize a 2010 draft crop that is noticeably lean on grade-A quality arms, that noise you will hear emanating from Lucas Oil Stadium over the next 6 days is Donovan McNabb's and Michael Vick's trade value climbing.

While teams are playing it pretty close to the vest and wearing their best "What, me worry?" look on their faces, the truth is there are more than a dozen teams with unsettled quarterback situations.

Any general manager who tries to tell you he can't wait to go to war next season with Ryan Fitzpatrick (Buffalo) or Keith Null (St. Louis) or Brady Quinn (Cleveland) or Alex Smith (San Francisco) or JaMarcus Russell (Oakland) or Matt Moore (Carolina) as his starting quarterback is either lying or dumb as a post.

Few of the league's many quarterback-needy teams are going to have their SOS answered in the draft. Heading into the combine, just two QBs - Sam Bradford, of Oklahoma, and Jimmy Clausen, of Notre Dame - are considered first-round worthy. And both have issues that could affect their draft stock.

"Usually, there's one or two really good [quarterbacks] at the top," said a personnel man for a team with a top-10 draft pick that needs a quarterback. "This year, you have two pretty good ones. But both have issues. And after them, there's a big dropoff.

"Neither [Bradford nor Clausen] is a slam dunk," said a college scouting director for an NFC team. "Whether you really liked Matt Ryan or not, you knew he was going to be a player. You knew [Joe] Flacco was eventually going to be a player. You just didn't know how quickly. I'm not sure you know that about either of these guys."

Bradford won the Heisman Trophy in 2008, but has a twice-injured throwing shoulder that caused him to miss almost all of last season. Clausen still is recovering from a foot injury and has some ever-popular "character" issues hovering over him, mostly related to leadership skills and work ethic. Those aren't exactly areas you want to wonder about in a quarterback you're thinking of handing $30 million in guaranteed money.

"Bradford has top-five ability, or at least he did [before he got hurt]," said an AFC player personnel director. "But when you talk about the money you're paying a guy that high up, he's a risk because of the injury history and the body type. Your owner wants to know, 'Will he go down again?' That's a question nobody knows with him. He kind of has a Brodie Croyle kind of body. I'm not sure it's built to last."

When he won the Heisman, Bradford played behind what probably was the best offensive line in college football that year and seldom was touched.

"When you look at the [2008] tape, you don't really see him taking a lot of hits," said NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock. "His accuracy was great. He looked like the real deal. He looked like a franchise quarterback.

"But it's hard to tell how he's going to hold up at the next level. It's not a negative report. It's more incomplete. And you're talking about a possible top-10 pick with kind of an incomplete grade. It's kind of buyer beware even more than usual."

Mayock said Clausen is easier to evaluate off film study because he played in a pro-style offense.

"He can make all of the throws and has a very good arm," he said. "Has pretty good footwork. He reduced his interceptions drastically last year. I still don't like his pocket awareness, though. When the heavy pressure comes, he struggles a bit. His eyes come down. That happens with a lot of young quarterbacks, but more so with him than a lot of elite quarterbacks.

"That worries me a lot. And then, I'm a big believer in the intangibles at that position. And there are a lot of questions about him regarding leadership and work ethic."

Bradford and Clausen are the only quarterbacks in the draft with a realistic chance of going in the first round. Texas' Colt McCoy is a projected second-rounder. Somebody might take a flier on Florida's Tim Tebow in the second or third round.

"After that it's a crapshoot," Mayock said. "I can name 10 quarterbacks and I can call 10 teams and get 10 different opinions on all of them."

Which brings us back to the Eagles.

General manager Howie Roseman acknowledged earlier this week that several teams already have called about the availability of their three quarterbacks - McNabb, Vick and Kevin Kolb. He said he expects even more calls in the weeks leading up to the draft, which is a clear indication that the Eagles are willing to listen to offers.

"It's like anything in the league," Roseman said. "If you have an abundance at a position that people are looking for, people are going to come calling. That's what happens. Andy and I expect that to continue to happen.

"We have three really good quarterbacks, three NFL starting quarterbacks. Somebody in the building said to me the other day, you're going to look back at this time period in your career and go, 'Wow, that was just an unbelievable opportunity with the talent level we had [at quarterback].' I feel fortunate that we have that talent level, and I'm excited about it.

Roseman agreed that the draft's poor quarterback crop only enhances the trade value of the Eagles' QBs.

"If you're looking for something and you look through free agency and you look through the draft, and you felt like it wasn't a great crop at the position you were looking to fill, you look at all options and figure out what you can get and what you can do. Especially at an important position [like quarterback]."

It is a seller's market, and the Eagles have some attractive property to sell.

"There's always a supply and demand in the marketplace," said Mayock. "I think the Eagles are in pretty good position if they want to trade any of those guys."

Vick is expected to be traded at some point in the coming weeks. McNabb? Well, while Reid has been careful not to say anything that would indicate the six-time Pro Bowler won't be back, two NFL people who have worked with Reid think McNabb will be playing elsewhere next season.

"The timing's perfect," one of them said. "The moons are lining up to do it. His contract [he has 1 year left on his current deal]. The demand out there for him. It all depends on what they think of Kolb, and every indication I've gotten is that Andy loves the [bleep] out of the kid. If they're convinced he's ready, you pull the trigger.

"Really, what are they going to do? Try and squeeze 1 more year out of him and then trade him? His trade value never is going to be higher than it is right now, particularly given the [quarterback] market. And if Kolb is legit, sitting on the bench another year isn't going to make him any more ready."

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