Trial

Jeff Garcia is back in the papers today- playing golf or something- but since he was doing it with McNabb it is what passes for news. I guess because the story came out before the Flyers decided they’d rather compete next seasons as Nashville. Yo Flyers' guys- we still have too many Finns!

Now, I am sympathetic to Jeff Garcia here- up to a point. He had a great year, played out a great story, for half a year in Philadelphia. Press and fans were sure Jeff deserved a term as caddy to Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia. And leaving such a great situation- really tailored for Garcia- had to distress him some.

But I never for a moment thought he’d be coming back- and it was pretty obvious the Eagles from Day One thought that too. I am not going to re-hash all the reasons- see the post- but quickly:

We know Andy Reid thinks AJ Feeley can play and serve as a very effective back-up. Heck, he’s already won in that role under Reid here before. Throw in the fact AJ’s younger and cheaper, and Garcia’s retention was always unlikely. Also, from the moment the season ended, the Eagles clearly were taking a first day quarterback in this draft- which means that guy was ticketed soon for a role on the active roster. With McNabb’s recent inability to finish a season, the Eagles were not entering 2007 without a back-up they think can play and a high round draft choice to develop. That is three qbs who aren't just roster filler, one making franchise wages and two making qb money (ie. higher than average for a non-starting roster spot), and tieing up even more money at the back up quarterback position for Garcia- at the expense of the cost effective AJ- becomes problematic.

You can’t feel too sorry for Garcia- who has gone from being washed up to making $5 million as the starting quarterback-to-be in Tampa. Both sides got what they wanted- and it is hard to argue the separation now isn’t in the interest of both parties.