Kolb can keep the visor, but the Eagles will probably want the helmet back.

According to a league source, the Philadelphia Eagles will apply the franchise tag to Pro Bowl quarterback Michael Vick next month. The move will ensure that Vick remains an Eagle for the duration of the 2011 season, and conventional wisdom suggests that in that time frame, the Eagles will work to sign Vick to a long-term deal.

In the meantime, I’m sure Vick will be pretty happy making approximately $20 million next season, which is about the average  salary of the five highest-paid players at his position. That’s what a franchise tag entails, so I’m sure Vick’s debtors are smiling right now.

Caught up in all the news about Vick is the probability that the Eagles will likely listen to offers for backup quarterback Kevin Kolb. Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweeted that Kolb’s worth is probably a late first-round to early second-round pick.

Of course, nothing can be done trade-wise until a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is in place. (Corey Wiese of Bleacher Report has a nice piece on what else will be affected with no CBA, if you’re interested… you should be.) As a result, writing about some of these issues that affect “next season” often seems pointless, but I continue to play along. It really does get more depressing as we get closer to March 5th, the date the current CBA expires. Anyway…

The decision to franchise Vick is a good one. It gives fans the chance to see him in full-season mode without questions regarding his status as a starting quarterback. The short-term commitment will also allow the front office to monitor his off-the-field behavior without long-term consequences.

Remember that Vick hasn’t gone a full year without being in semi-hot water. For a player that pretty much has two strikes with the NFL, it is conducive for the Eagles and its fans to give their quarterback another audition to see if he can remain in good standing with the league. Had the Eagles optioned to work out a long-term deal at this juncture, many of us would be crossing our fingers hoping that Vick would go the entire duration without slipping up. Here, we only have to worry about one year….

…if there even is a “year”

Here are some other observations from the weekend in sports… I have many:

  • Andy Reid is the longest-tenured coach in the NFL, but Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer explains here why Reid’s time in Philadelphia may come to an end sooner than later. I, for one, subscribe to McLane’s school of thought.
  • I’ve had this on the brain for awhile, but when Reid was asked about McDermott’s status before his firing and if he’d be back, Reid said this:

” ‘You’re dealing with a guy that’s a tremendous worker and is a very smart individual,’ Reid said Monday, a day after the Eagles’ season came to an end with a 21-16 playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers. ‘And so I look at it a little bit different than what you do in that I’ve seen him work with young guys, I’ve seen him work through injuries, I’ve seen him stay positive through those situations and still put us in a position to win football games.’ “

  • Sounds like a guy who had every intention to keep his defensive coordinator, yet a few days later, McDermott gets canned… is Reid making the big decisions anymore. I continue to wonder…
  • The Pro Bowl sucks… it sucks, and no one in the NFL does anything about it because they know the league are is juggernaut. Well, breaking news, geniuses… if there’s no football in 2011-12, you’re going to have to fix much more than the Pro Bowl to retain the fan base you’ve all grown accustomed to.
  • NFL Owners piss me off.
  • Jim Salisbury has an interesting take on how to handle R2C2 in 2011. I agree with him, now fans need to hope that Charlie Manuel will have the guts to pull his pitchers when they need to hit the showers… instead of letting them tell him when they’re ready to go.
  • Phillies players arrive in Clearwater on February 13th for physicals… making it the first time I’ve ever been excited about physicals.
  • Resident moron Sean Salisbury, known for his days at ESPN before being fired for showing a picture of his genitalia to a coworker in 2006, called the LFL Lingerie Bowl this weekend… how far you have come…
  • Congratulations to the Philadelphia Passion for winning the Lingerie Bowl, I guess.
  • I enjoyed everything about NHL All-Star Weekend, from the fantasy draft to the skills competition to the all-star game itself. People compared the NHL game to the Pro Bowl… I put them in two completely different categories.
  • Having said that, the Versus HD feed was terrible yesterday because the audio and video didn’t sync up for two periods. Awkward…
  • I enjoyed last night’s WWE Royal Rumble. I haven’t watched wrestling in quite a while, but the Rumble always brings me back to my childhood. It’s the best event they have every year. I’ll watch the Rumble and WrestleMania every single year until I’m dead… probably.
  • I’ll post my overall thoughts on the Rumble some time today.
  • I can’t get in to college basketball this year… I’m curious to see how that will impact my involvement in pools when the NCAA tournament bracket is released in mid-March. I used to call the first Thursday first-round games “Christmas day”… I now reserve that title for the day that pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater.
  • And I use it again on Opening Day.
  • Enjoy the Packers and Steelers on Sunday, it’s the last football game you’ll see on the pro level in at least six months, but probably longer.
  • And then us sports bloggers will be left with the BCS… Jesus, somebody do something.
  • It was nice to see roommates Claude Giroux and Danny Briere notch three goals in the NHL All-Star game. Briere’s name was mentioned in the MVP chat on Twitter after his second goal.
  • The Sixers have won four of five… um, yeah.
  • 1000 words is enough… enjoy your Monday!