Revisiting the Insane Eagles-Cardinals Trade for Kevin Kolb

NFL teams will always give strong-armed quarterbacks multiple chances to break out, and former Philadelphia Eagles QB Kevin Kolb stands out as a guy who got way too many over the early part of the decade.

After throwing seven picks against four touchdowns in three seasons as Donovan McNabb's backup, Kolb finally got his chance to take over the starting role in 2010. Unfortunately, poor play (seven picks against seven touchdowns in five games) and the emergence of Michael Vick saw Kolb once again stuck on the bench. This prompted the quarterback-needy Arizona Cardinals to trade a second-round pick as well as promising corner Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to Philly in exchange for the toolsy young quarterback.

The pick that the Eagles acquired, No. 51 overall, was later traded to the Green Bay Packers for bust defensive lineman Jerel Worthy. After trading down, the Eagles landed pass rusher Vinny Curry, who has played seven of his eight seasons in Philadelphia, and backup cornerback Brandon Boykin. Rodgers-Cromartie would play two seasons of his long NFL career in Philadelphia.

Kolb, meanwhile, was a brutal watch for two years in Arizona. He sustained his second career concussion after nine below average starts (9 TDs, 8 INTs) in 2011.

2012 is where the wheels fell off. While Kolb played his best career football (8 TDs, 3 INTs with a 3-2 record), more concussion issues limited him to just five starts.

From there, a legendary awful quarterback room of John Skelton, Brian Hoyer, and the inconceivably bad Ryan Lindley managed to throw 19 interceptions against eight touchdowns as the team went 5-11. Head coach Ken Whisenhunt was fired and replaced with Bruce Arians.

Kolb had the arm to be a star, but poor decision making and injuries relegated him to the great early 2010s quarterback scrap heap.