Kevin Kolb Favored Over Donovan McNabb in Eagles Locker Room

It sure was strange to hear talk the Philadelphia Eagles would trade quarterback Donovan McNabb. Things got even weirder when McNabb was dealt to the division rival Washington Redskins.

In the end, the Eagles were trying to do the right thing. McNabb didn't want to go to Oakland, and Washington was the only other serious suitor. A deal within the division may not have been desirable, but it was the best (and, really, only) option.

Of course, the organization also probably knew what we learned Sunday. Evidently, it was youngster Kevin Kolb -- not McNabb -- who had the support of the Eagles locker room.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Sunday that Kolb was the choice among the players. Offensive lineman Todd Herremans explained.

"I would say probably the majority of the players are younger players, and they drew to Kevin a little better as the last year went on, especially being able to get in there and actually play with them a couple games. The younger players in the locker room kind of wanted to see Kevin take over and get their own print on the team. As long as Donovan was on the team, it was going to be his thing, not the young kids taking over."

Entering his sixth season, Herremans said, "We would've loved to play with Donovan another year. But the majority of the locker room was leaning toward Kevin. It was not age or ability. They wanted to make their own mark in Eagles history right now."

It's interesting to think about this, but it makes sense. The Eagles are not -- collectively -- a very old team, but McNabb is 33. At some point, he was going to stop being as cool as the young backup. When Kolb got to make two starts in place of an injured McNabb in 2009, he played well (741 yards passing, four touchdowns, three picks, 65 percent completions) and clearly won some people over in Philadelphia. He became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 300 yards in each of his first two starts.

The Inquirer also noted Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie was on board, in part because head coach Andy Reid was very confident Kolb would do well as the starter.

"Donovan still was a very good quarterback, still had good market value," Lurie said, "but Kevin was evolving and showing tremendous intangibles. In practice, where we saw him every day, he was very impressive. At some point, we just felt like it was time to make that change. That doesn't mean it's the right move. Time will tell whether it's the right move. But there was trade value still with Donovan, and Kevin was more than ready to take over.

"We know we have a good young team," Lurie continued, "especially on offense. And if I weren't confident in Andy's judgment on quarterbacks, I'd be worried and I wouldn't be able to go along with that scenario. But because I have tremendous confidence in his ability to evaluate quarterbacks, it was a relatively straightforward decision. A big decision, nonetheless, but one where it fit exactly the development framework."

We're going to be into the winter before we know for sure if Philadelphia did the right thing in the short term. What is undeniable is that the Eagles made a long-term move here. They went with a guy who they feel can be their starting quarterback for the next ten years or more.

There are some parallels to what Green Bay went through with Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. The brass at Lambeau Field was wholly confident that Rodgers could lead the team, especially after the job he did in a relief appearance at Dallas during the 2007 season. When Favre decided to unretire late in the summer, he was not handed the starting job back, largely because of the confidence in Rodgers. While the Packers haven't won the NFC North in Rodgers' two years as starter, his numbers are as good as anyone in the NFL, and big things are expected in 2010.

That doesn't mean McNabb wouldn't have been the right guy for the Eagles in 2010. If the Redskins weren't interested, and Philly couldn't find anyone to trade McNabb to, he would have played for them, and he probably would have played well. He's only 33, it's not like the game was passing him by.

Of course, this doesn't preclude Kolb from stepping in and having a great year. If that happens, the Eagles' long-term decision will be validated much earlier than anyone would have expected.

(Head-butt: Pro Football Talk)