Matt Barkley Heading To Arizona Cardinals

Michael Perez/Associated Press

Michael Perez/Associated Press

After an off-season of fighting for the third string quarterback job with Tim Tebow, Philadelphia Eagles have traded Matt Barkley to the Arizona Cardinals for a conditional seventh round pick, if Barkley is on the Cardinals roster for six games this upcoming season. The move could imply that Tebow could be in head coach Chip Kelly’s plans for the regular season.

Last season in Philadelphia, in one game played, he had one attempt for 39.6 yards and zero yards passing yards. With Barkley being the third string quarterback behind Mark Sanchez and Nick Foles, he was never really given a chance to showcase his skills with the team, being a third stringer and all. He did show some flashes of talent during his days of playing at University of Southern California.

Even though Barkley was nothing with the team, he is still a great quarterback he, has a good arm, showcased at USC, and he can make most of the throws that quarterbacks should be expected to make. He is still a project meaning that he is not going to be a starting quarterback right away. He needs to learn being the backup quarterback, give him a few years of growing then he will produce great numbers.

Arizona is getting a good young backup in Barkley, who could be the next man up after Carson Palmer. Since Palmer is not getting any younger, and with his injury history, the team needed to get a reliable young backup quarterback. Who can step in for Palmer when he goes down with an injury, or when he is not producing good numbers? Barkley can learn a lot from Palmer, since Palmer is a veteran quarterback in this league. Possibly grooming Barkley to become the next franchise quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals.

With the offense that Chip Kelly runs, there is a chance that Tebow could get some playing time this season. Even with being the third string quarterback. There is a slim chance he might start a game or two, with the injury history of Sam Bradford and the inconsistency history of Mark Sanchez.