The Eagles leverage with the Cardinals may have taken a major hit Tuesday afternoon.
The Seahawks, who had been involved in trade talks with the Eagles for quarterback Kevin Kolb, agreed to contract terms Tuesday afternoon with a different former second-round pickveteran Tarvaris Jackson.
That means the Seahawks are no longer a possible destination for Kolb, and that means the Eagles now have less leverage in trade talks with the Cards than they did before the day began.
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The Seahawks decided earlier this summer to move on from 35-year-old Matt Hasselbeck, who took them to the Super Bowl in 2005 but has a 12-23 record since 2008.
Kolb is 3-4 in seven career starts with more interceptions (14) than touchdowns (11) in his brief career. Jackson has a 10-10 career record with 24 TDs and 22 INTs. Jacksons offensive coordinator in Minnesota was Darrell Bevell, who is now the Seahawks offensive coordinator.
With Seattle out of the picture, Arizona is the only team known to still be in the mix for Kolb. And the Cards are said to still be considering Kyle Orton and Marc Bulger as their future starter, and they are believed to be fairly high on Orton. So the Eagles might not be in a position to ask for nearly as much from the Cards as they would have before Jackson signed with the Seahawks.
The 49ers are the wild-card here. They also have a major need at quarterback and are known to like Kolb. As long as there is more than one team involved in talks, its unlikely anything will get done.
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Kolb lost his starting job to Michael Vick on opening day last fall, and its been inevitable since then that the Eagles would trade him as soon as they were able to make a deal that made sense.
Any trade with the Cards would almost certainly be for Pro Bowl cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who has 13 interceptions in three seasons, four of them returned for touchdowns. The Cards make the most sense for the Eagles, since they have such a pressing need at corner.
Talks Tuesday with Arizona revolved around compensation the Eagles would receive in addition to Rodgers-Cromartie. The Eagles price for Kolbat least as negotiations openedwas an elite starter and a front-line draft pick. The Cards do not want to part with an early pick in addition to a star player.
The Cards on Tuesday released quarterback Derek Anderson, leaving them with John Skelton, Rich Bartel and Max Hall on the roster.
What if the 49ers and Cards both go in a different direction? The possibility remains that Kolb could remain an Eagle. Technically, if hes not traded by Wednesday afternoon, hed be due to report with his teammates to Lehigh University in Bethlehem. Certainly, if the Eagles are on the brink of a trade, they would tell him to stay home in Texas.
I wouldnt be surprised at all if Kolb attended camp, Vick said Tuesday at the NovaCare Complex. To have him herehes obviously an asset for this team. Well continue to get better as quarterbacks each and every day. However it plays out, were happy.
Weve been texting periodically. His spirits are high. Hes excited about his opportunities right nowwhether hes with another team or back in Philly. Well see how it all plays out, but were rooting for him.
Kolb completed 61 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions for a 73.2 passer rating in his Eagles tenure and went 3-4 in seven starts. Hes signed through the 2011 season with a base salary of 1,392,000 and a cap figure of 5,357,280.
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com