The Philadelphia Eagles continue to remain coy about the future of their quarterback position. The only thing that appears to be clear is that Mark Sanchez is not getting his contract renewed and will head into free agency. That leaves the Eagles with Nick Foles returning from injury and Matt Barkley still sitting in the wings. However, Kelly has not seemed totally invested in Foles as the future in Philadelphia which is leading to reports of a draft-day deal for Marcus Mariota.
It is simply too early to tell who will compete for the No. 1 overall draft pick. However, NJ.com is reporting that Philadelphia plans on at least attempting to strike a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in order to acquire the top pick and draft Mariota.
"From No. 20, it's certainly not going to be easy," an unnamed source said, via NJ.com. "It's probably going to take moving up twice to do it. There's going to be some wheeling and dealing involved. Can it happen? I don't know. But they're going to try."
This is both a stretch while also making sense. Philadelphia has the No. 20 pick in the draft meaning they will have to really offer up a lot to get Mariota. The Buccanneers will not give that pick away for just anything and the Eagles could essentially give up a large portion of their draft stock to acquire the quarterback. But, it does make sense when fans think about the relationship between Chip Kelly and Mariota. The two had success together at Oregon while Mariota is the typical style player that Kelly likes at that position. He is much more mobile than Foles is while still maintaining the arm strength and accuracy.
The Eagles have to make a decision on whether or not to invest in Foles. The quarterback will be entering the final year of his contract and so far there have been no negotiations regarding a new contract for Foles. If the Eagles cannot acquire Mariota, they might start to think about giving Foles a new deal or they might wait and let him play out that final year before deciding just how much he is worth.
The Eagles still have to try and re-sign leading wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. They are also determining whether or not to retain LeSean McCoy after he declined to take a pay cut in his current contract. If Kelly believes Mariota is his guy for the future, the Eagles will make the blockbuster deal.