It hasn’t taken Chip Kelly long to start making headlines with his new team, as earlier today news broke that the 49ers have come to an agreement with the Denver Broncos to trade Colin Kaepernick. “What does this have to do with the Eagles?” you ask…quite a lot.
Kaepernick played in a dismal nine games for the 49ers in 2015 before being benched in favor of Blaine Gabbert. After a career-low passer rating (78.5) and stats that saw Kaepernicks name go from being associated with the Super Bowl to being associated with some of the worst ranked Quarterbacks in the league, it was thought that Kelly may be Kaepernicks final lifeline in San Francisco.
Despite all signs pointing that way, it looks as though the Niners are ready to move on from Kaepernick with only a pending pay-cut standing in their way…and this is where the Eagles come into play.
IF the Kaepernick trade goes through, the Niners would be left with Blaine Gabbert as their only realistic option to lead the team going into next season..(unless the story of Thad Lewis following Chip Kelly to San Francisco takes a huge plot twist.) which means the Niners are almost forced into turning to the Draft.
The Eagles hold the eighth pick in the first round of this years draft..and the Niners lie just one spot higher holding the seventh pick. After Jeffery Lurie, Howie Roseman, Doug Pederson and Frank Reich privately worked out all of the first round QB prospects, it became widely speculated that the Eagles are in the hunt to take one of the top three Quarterbacks in the draft class with their eighth overall pick.
The Browns could well still be in play with their pick in the first round and if both Cleveland and San Francisco draft a Quarterback, the Eagles may end up losing out on their ideal project signal caller before even deciding if drafting one in the first round is the right thing to do.
However, if the Niners do draft a Quarterback..it likely means that there would be one more talent available that was previously out of the picture and could well fill a position of need.
If the Eagles are intent on drafting a Quarterback in the first round (which in itself is hugely up for debate), this potential trade could have huge implications. It would force the Eagles into deciding if it is worth trading up for a Quarterback..or if it’s worth looking at guys like Hogan and Hackenberg, who by next week will have both worked out with the team.
Nobody knows what the Eagles motives are when it comes to their first round pick..only that anyone with influence over the decision agrees they HAVE to sign an impact player. If it was a Quarterback they planned on drafting and Kaepernick restructures his deal in order to move to Denver..there could be one huge curveball tearing through the NovaCare Complex.
photo credit: AP
