Eagles need to bring back Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick to quarterback

With all due respect to Kevin Kolb, he is not going anywhere. It is great that he wants to be a starting quarterback in the National Football League, but unless some team comes at the Eagles with a ridiculous offer - say, two first-round draft picks, which is unlikely - Kolb is going to be right here next season, backing up Michael Vick.

That is not Kolb's preference, but he is under contract through 2011, and the Eagles most likely are going to hold him to it.

Coach Andy Reid has said it before and I'll say it for him again: In a quarterback-driven league, it is a beautiful thing to have two guys who are legitimate starters on the roster. Reid is not going to give that up, nor should he. The smart football move is to bring back Vick, whose contract expires at the end of the season, as the starter and Kolb, who has one year remaining, as the backup.

Or, just for fun, bring them both back and let them fight it out in training camp, if for no other reason than to soothe Kolb and let him feel as if he has a chance to be the starter.

Kolb will not necessarily like it, but last year the Eagles gave him 11 million reasons why he should be able to stomach it.

Without a new collective-bargaining agreement in place between the league and its players, there is uncertainty hanging over this pending off-season. But when a deal does finally get done, it is expected to provide clubs with a franchise tag. The Eagles in all likelihood will use the franchise tag on Vick and thus pay him the average of the top five quarterbacks in the league, a handsome sum that could be as high as $20 million.

Given Vick's aggressive style, his disdain for sliding to avoid big hits, and his injury history, the Eagles will need a reliable backup who could step in if Vick gets hurt. Mike Kafka is not there yet. Kolb showed this year that he is.

After the Eagles lost to Green Bay on Sunday, Kolb said that, while he would love to return to the Eagles in 2011, he only wants to come back as the starter. It is time, he said.

He might be right, but whether he is a starter is not up to him. It is up to his boss, and his boss made his choice in September. He chose Vick.

"He sure did a nice job this season," Reid said of Vick on Monday.