At this point, we’ve established the Eagles want to trade Kevin Kolb. It also seems fair to say there will be a strong market for him, and it sounds like the Eagles should get a first-round pick in a potential trade.
Jim Trotter of Sports Illustrated points out that coming up with trade compensation would only be one part of a potential deal.
“Keep hearing that teams interested in Kolb are not scared of draft choice compensation,” Trotter writes. “They’re scared of the contract Kolb wants.”
It’s a great point worth keeping in mind with any Kolb speculation. Kolb may only be due $1.392 million this year, but what’s he going to want in a new contract?
Kolb got a signing bonus of nearly $11 million from the Eagles last year. We figure the starting point for contract talks for any team that wants Kolb would be Matt Schaub’s six-year, $48 million contract from 2007 with the Texans.
It’s one thing to give up draft picks to clearly upgrade your quarterback depth chart. It’s another thing to make that sort of investment, especially if you have to complete the contract quickly.
The lockout is working against Kolb. Let’s say a team like the Seahawks or 49ers draft a quarterback in the first two rounds. Will they want to give Kolb the deal he wants after that?
We ultimately think Kolb will be traded before the season. But if the lockout doesn’t end until August, for instance, it’s going to be very tricky for teams to complete both parts of a deal for him.