Eagles' QB Kolb Wants to Start

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb thinks he's ready to be a starter in the National Football League, the third-year passer told Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

"I want to be a starter in the NFL," Kolb told Williams on Thursday. "That’s my No. 1 goal right now. I want that opportunity. But I’m going to be a team player. I trust [Eagles head coach] Andy [Reid]. I trust his decisions and his ability to see what’s in the future and plan out my career the right way. Hopefully, we’ll do those things to get me on the field at some point, not knowing when it’s going to be."

Kolb, along with starter Donovan McNabb and fellow back-up quarterback Michael Vick, is entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2010. The Eagles are expected to release Vick prior to March 5, but could trade either McNabb or Kolb this off-season, as well.

A second-round pick (36th overall) out of Houston in 2007, Kolb has appeared in 12 games , starting two, over his first three seasons in the NFL. The 6-3, 218-pound quarterback has completed 60.8% of his passes for 885 yards, four touchdowns and seven interceptions, compiling a passer rating of 68.9.

Kolb got his first NFL starts early in the 2009 campaign, after McNabb was sidelined by broken ribs in the season-opener. Kolb attempted 51 passes against the eventual NFC Champion New Orleans Saints in his first NFL start, and the inexperienced Kolb predictably struggled, tossing three interceptions in Philadelphia's 48-22 loss. The following week against Kansas City, Kolb appeared more composed, completing 24-of-34 passes for 327 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but more importantly, played turnover-free football.

One possible suitor for Kolb may be the Cleveland Browns, who are believed to be in the market for a quarterback.

Many NFL observers believe that the Browns, who are now being led by president Mike Holmgren, may attempt to trade for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who has one year remaining on his contract.

However, acquiring Kolb may be the better long-term investment for the Browns.

Holmgren will presumably move the Browns towards a West Coast offense, which Kolb is familiar with, since Andy Reid is a branch of the Holmgren coaching tree. Reid has publicly, and privately, told McNabb that he's the starting quarterback for 2010, and trading Kolb would go a long ways towards cementing McNabb's status as the unquestioned starting quarterback in Philadelphia.

A deal with Cleveland should be a relatively painless one to make, since it's a non-conference team, with two young quarterbacks it's also willing to trade (Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn), and Browns general manager Tom Heckert joined the franchise earlier this month after spending much of the last decade as the Eagles' general manager.