The Eagles are eying former Buffalo Bills quarterback Trent Edwards as a possible replacement for Vince Young as Michael Vicks backup.
The Eagles worked out Edwards this week, a team source said, and with Young due to become a free agent this offseason, Edwards could very well wind up replacing Young as the Eagles No. 2 quarterback.
Edwards started 32 games for the Bills from 2007 through 2010, going 14-18 with routinely awful offensive lines and a lackluster array of skill players around him. Hes considered a smart, accurate quarterback and could be a great fit as a backup in the Eagles West Coast offense and an upgrade over Young, who struggled when he had to play in place of an injured Vick for three weeks this past season.
Edwards best year was 2008, when he was 7-7 in 14 starts, with a franchise-record 66 percent completion percentage, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and an 85.4 passer rating.
He ranked sixth in the NFL that year in completion percentage and seventh in the AFC in passer rating, even though his starting receivers were Lee Evans and Josh Reed. Edwards 61 percent completion percentage while he was in Buffalo is a Bills record.
Edwards, the Bills third-round pick out of Stanford in 2007, last played in late 2010 with the Jaguars, losing his only start -- at Houston on the last day of the season. He was in training camp with the Raiders last year but did not make the team.
Edwards, 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, is 28. Because he was not on a roster at the end of last season, hes currently eligible to sign with any NFL team.
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Young, a two-time Pro Bowl pick with the Titans, started three games in his one season with the Eagles, beating the Giants and losing to the Patriots and Seahawks. He completed only 58 percent of his passes with four touchdowns and nine interceptions in just 114 pass attempts and finished with a 60.8 passer rating.
Young, who gained unwanted notoriety when he dubbed the Eagles A Dream Team when he arrived at Lehigh, last year became one of only five NFL quarterbacks since 1980 to throw as many as nine interceptions in 114 or fewer pass attempts.
The Eagles have their 2010 fourth-round draft pick, Mike Kafka, under contract for two more years at 490,000 in 2012 and 575,000 in 2013. Kafka played briefly in two early season losses this past season when Young was inactive with a hamstring injury and Vick got banged up. He completed 11 of 16 passes for 107 yards but throwing two interceptions and no touchdowns.
Andy Reid has always put great emphasis on his backup quarterback, and for most of his tenure in Philadelphia, its paid dividends. The Eagles are 18-12 under Reid when the starting quarterback has been unable to play because of an injury, with A.J. Feeley (4-1 in 2002), Jeff Garcia (5-1 in 2006) and Kevin Kolb (2-1 in 2010) all helping the Eagles ultimately reach the playoffs.
With Young winning just one of three starts this past season, the Eagles fell one win shy of the playoffs, losing the NFC East title by one game to the Giants, who face the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday in San Francisco.
Vick has played 16 games just once in his NFL career. He missed three games in both 2010 and 2011 with broken ribs.
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com.