Short answer: No.

Long answer…

The Eagles currently have a luxury that most teams wish they had: They have two quarterbacks whom in the first six weeks have proven that they can start in the NFL. And play well.

Kevin Kolb didn’t prove that until last week when he completed 21-of-31 passes for 253 yards and a touchdown in a 27-24 win over the 49ers. He cemented the belief on Sunday when he went 23-of-29 for 326 yards and three touchdowns as the Eagles dominated the hapless Falcons, 31-17.

While he isn’t 100% yet, Michael Vick appears closer to returning from a rib injury that has sidelined him for three games (he played at the very beginning of the loss to the Redskins in Week 4 before suffering the injury). With Philly’s bye week coming in Week 8, Andy Reid would be smart to start a hot Kolb against the Titans this Sunday and then decide over the break whom he wants to go with in the second half.

But let’s get back on topic. Should the Eagles trade Vick or Kolb (or hell, why not both? Fourth rounder Mike Kafka is probably ready) before Tuesday’s trade deadline? It should be noted that the Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that neither will be dealt, but it’s an interesting topic regardless.

If anything, Vick’s injury only further strengthens the Eagles’ need both quarterbacks. Vick opens himself up to injury all the time with his style of play, so it would make sense for the team to hang onto Kolb in case a) Vick’s rib injury doesn’t heal properly or b) he suffers another injury down the road.

Let’s not forget that while Vick has looked phenomenal in the four games he’s played in thus far, the law of averages state that he’s due for a letdown. Even in his prime, the highest QB rating he’s compiled is 81.6 (which was in 2002 when he lead the Falcons to a playoff win over the Packers), but is a far cry from the current 108.8 mark that he’s sporting now. I don’t care if he says he’s a different quarterback, it stands to reason that he won’t keep performing at this clip.

That said, he needs to start if he keeps producing wins and I think Reid owes it to Vick to stick with him once he’s healthy. If it weren’t for Vick, Kolb may have put Philly in a huge hole to start the season. If Vick struggles upon his return, then maybe Reid needs to make a switch back to Kolb, although he doesn’t want to get into a situation where he’s playing the matchups. This isn’t college football – inconsistency at the quarterback position can doom teams. Just ask the 49ers.

Senior NFL.com analyst Pat Kirwan suggested in a recent article that now might be the best time for the Eagles to trade Michael Vick.

Michael Vick said he expected to be a starting quarterback when he reentered the NFL. When I look at some of the quarterback situations around the league, I think he’s right, but I don’t really see him as a fit in Philadelphia after watching Kevin Kolb for the past two weeks.

The return of Donovan McNabb, as well as having Jeff Garcia under contract, makes Vick a guy to consider trading. He saw limited duty in his first real game and he will get better with more work, but his contract next year probably means he will not be an Eagle after 2009.
In the past two weeks, Kolb has completed 55 of 85 passes for 718 yards (8.44 yards per attempt) with four touchdowns, three interceptions and just two sacks. Any young QB that only gets sacked once every 43.5 attempts and distributes the ball to seven different receivers every game is the future — and he’s a whole lot cheaper than Vick.

In Vick’s career, he has been sacked an average of once every 10 pass attempts. And when it comes to the Wildcat, receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin can handle those duties if the Eagles care to continue using it.

I don’t think there are any real worries about the fallout from Vick’s off-the-field issues anymore and maybe a team like the Raiders would love to have him on the roster. He has to be worth a decent draft pick. Garcia is the veteran backup the Eagles need for insurance. When the Eagles activated him to the 45-man roster this weekend, they confirmed they see him that way, too.

Garcia was just released so that the Eagles could make room for middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, although I don’t think that would change Kirwan’s mind regarding Philly trading Vick.

Kirwan suggests that Vick “has to be worth a decent draft pick.” Not sure I agree with that. He hasn’t shown enough in his limited time back to convince any team that he can be their starting quarterback and no team is going to part with a draft pick just to use Vick in the Wildcat.

One thing I do side with Kirwan on is how teams don’t have to worry about the fallout from Vick’s off-field issues. The Eagles essentially took the first blow and they didn’t receive much criticism. But again, I don’t see any team parting with a 2nd or 3rd rounder (what I would deem a “decent” draft pick) to add Vick just based on what we’ve seen so far.