Should Vikings Trade For Kevin Kolb Now?

(Disclaimer: If Vikings trade for Vincent Jackson tonight you can immediately throw this entry out. I do not believe in trading entire drafts for veteran players. Plus midseason trades with active players rarely happen in the NFL, but anyway…)

As I’m sure everyone knows by now, Michael Vick was named the starting QB of the Philadelphia Eagles for the 2010 season. This came as an absolute shock to the NFL world. A mere two days ago Andy Reid said that in spite of Vick’s solid play, once Kevin Kolb is medically cleared from his concussion suffered against the Green Bay Packers he will resume starting. Well Week 3 is here and Kolb has been cleared to play “in every which way” (Andy Reid’s words, not mine). And while Reid says that Kolb has not demanded a trade, that doesn’t imply he is not available. For blog sake, lets say that he is.

Kolb was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2007 draft after having an illustrious career at the University of Houston. He learned under Donovan McNabb for 2007-2009. Last year while starting two games he threw for over 300 yards in each contest. He also won over the locker room working with young stars in DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy. In 2010 he was crowned starter of the Eagles after they traded Donovan McNabb to the Washington Redskins. That’s a pretty strong commitment with McNabb being considered one of the five greatest Eagles in history. Plus 3 years were spent developing Kolb and the financial commitment was also given to the tune of a $12 million contract thru 2011.

The Vikings as we know have a bit of uncertainty at the QB position for the future. Few believe that Favre will be back next year, next to no one sees Tarvaris Jackson as a potential franchise signal caller and while Joe Webb has looked like Hercules in preseason games he is minimum 2-3 years away from being an NFL starter if at all.

So do we strike while the iron is hot and submit an offer for Kevin Kolb? I don’t see how after today the Eagles can go back to him. Also the three years of development were in Andy Reid’s system that so happens to be Chilly’s former boss that runs a similar version of the West Coast Offense. How many QBs have come into our system and been unfamiliar with the terminology? You could always draft a QB in 2011 and plan on growing pains for 2-3 years, at which point Adrian Peterson will be in his late 20s.

There’s also the dreadful thought of 2010 becoming a lost season. Do you think fans would rather see Kolb getting some work showing promise or a Favre farewell tour?

So my offer would be as follows: Offer up a 2011 2nd round pick and Tarvaris Jackson for Kolb. Eagles received a 2nd round pick for Donovan McNabb last year and while Kolb is younger he does not have McNabb’s resume. And while many fans would rejoice about Tarvaris Jackson leaving town, he is a serviceable backup QB (which the Eagles would need because Mike Kafka is not ready) who could benefit from change of scenery. And does anyone care to argue that Tarvaris Jackson does not possess a playing style similar to Michael Vick than Brett Favre?

All of this being said, I’m not Rick Spielman and can’t pick up the phone to call Howie Roseman or Andy Reid. But if history means anything the list of Koy Detmer, Artis Hicks, Ryan Moats, Greg Lewis, Mike McMahon, Billy McMullen and Lito Sheppard may have another addition.

Jon Merckle may be followed on Twitter @thevikingpig