When they say there’s totally no truth to the rumor and take it overboard, you know there’s definitely some truth to rumor. First Rams GM Billy Devaney denied the trade rumors regarding Donovan McNabb saying, “Absolutely false,” and “utterly ridiculous.”
He didn’t stop there he took it too far.¬† “I haven’t talked to Philadelphia about any of their players,” Devaney told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Now that was a ridiculous statement because not having talked to the Eagles at all would be incompetence on their part.
The Rams are in desperate need of a quarterback and the Eagles have three of them.  It would be totally foolish for them not to at least inquire about the Eagles quarterbacks.  Add to that quite a few members of their staff are former Eagles assistants and the statement is even more ridiculous.
Another serious sign of something major in the works was the report that Andy Reid and McNabb haven’t talked in weeks.¬† You know something isn’t right when these two aren’t talking.
I think the Eagles side of the equation is a done deal.¬† I’m confident that McNabb is going to be dealt out of here, but the question is where is he going.¬† Buffalo and Oakland are reported to be in running with St. Louis.
Reid also disclosed he was dreaming of having the first pick in the second round, which is the 33rd pick in the draft.
“I’d love to have that first pick of the second day,” Reid said, referring to the 33d overall pick, “where you can sleep on it, regather your thoughts, which you normally don’t get to do.”
That happens to be the same pick the Rams are rumored to be in the process of trading to the Eagles for McNabb.¬† Coincidence?¬† I don’t think so.
Something is in the works but there’s one major problem standing in the way of the Eagles-Rams deal, and that’s the fact that the Rams have the first pick in the draft.
The top quarterback prospect is Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, who has a workout next Monday, March 29 and there’s no question that the Rams will be there.
Bradford missed the NFL Combine and Oklahoma’s Pro Day, so I think the Rams are leaning toward getting McNabb, but they have to take a look at Bradford on Monday or they wouldn’t be doing their jobs.
The former Sooner gunslinger has to be exceptional when throwing the ball in front of Rams offensive coordinator and former Eagles quarterback coach Pat Shurmur.¬† He knows what McNabb can do, so you can believe Shurmur will have McNabb in the back of his mind as he’s standing there looking at Bradford.
Bradford has to blow Shurmur out of the water with his workout.
When the Rams and Bradford finish that part of the exercise, they’ll have their medical staff take a close look at Bradford and his shoulder.¬† The St. Louis doctors are going to twist that thing every which way but loose because they don’t want to draft damaged goods.
St. Louis must be assured that the shoulder which was torn up when he was slammed on an artificial surface will be durable enough to withstand being slammed on the artificial surface, which the Rams play on in St. Louis.
This is a huge decision for the Rams.¬† They can’t afford to draft Bradford and find out that his shoulder can’t take the pounding required from an NFL quarterback.
If they’re not sure, they have to go another route, which would likely be McNabb.
You know Shurmur would sleep better at night if he knew McNabb was his quarterback rather than the few other options which are out there.
The Eagles would probably be willing to wait until this situation plays out with the Rams because the offer that the two teams are reportedly talking about looks very attractive from the Philadelphia side.
If the Eagles could obtain the Rams second rounder and quality free safety Oshiomogho Atogwe, that’s probably the best scenario for a McNabb trade at this point.  They could plug two holes in their defense with the trade.
Bradford‚Äôs performance on Monday and the thorough examination of him by the Rams’ doctors are the keys not only to the Eagles quarterback situation, but the entire NFL draft.
Haran Knight Contributed to this article.
