PHILADELPHIA – Marlin Jackson's surgically repaired knees didn't scare off the Philadelphia Eagles.

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Marlin Jackson's surgically repaired knees didn't scare off the Philadelphia Eagles. Still looking to replace Brian Dawkins, the Eagles are taking a chance on Jackson. They signed the free agent defensive back to a two-year contract on Wednesday. A 2005 first-round draft pick by the Indianapolis Colts, Jackson is coming off a pair of season-ending knee injuries.

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The Eagles decided to pay the $1.5 million roster bonus to quarterback Mike Vick on Monday, as he was not traded or released by the 4 p.m. EST deadline.

Vick believes he can be a starting quarterback again after not having been one since 2006. Obviously, the question is whether other NFL teams believe he can, and whether he is worth the financial, draft-pick and time investment a team would need to make that decision.

The financial part goes beyond the $3.75 million base salary in Vick’s contract for 2010. Once that roster bonus is paid, $1 million of his salary becomes guaranteed.

In addition, there are $2.75 million in incentives that become very reachable if Vick is a team’s starting quarterback.

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With protesters outside, Michael Vick was awarded the Ed Block Courage Award.

The award is presented to players who show a commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage.  Vick was selected unanimously by his teammates.

“I’m very humbled to be here,” Vick said before the award ceremony. “I’m blessed to be voted by my peers, to be here, and this is an opportunity that I will take advantage of and cherish forever.”

This is the first award Vick has received since being reinstated in September 2009.

Vick ran the wildcat offense for the Philadelphia Eagles and completed six of 13 passes for 86 yards and one touchdown.

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There were many differing opinions of Hank Baskett and his best-served role with the Eagles from 2006 to 2009. The opinions ended when he was released to create roster space for Michael Vick.

I am spreading the rumor that those differing opinions may resurface in 2010.

Myself? I was always a Hank Baskett supporter and thought the Eagles should have found more ways to work him the ball.

As a young Eagles’ player, he twice won rookie of the week honors and supplied Eagles fans with three eighty plus yard plays for scores—none less significant than the bomb he caught against the Cowboys.

Baskett was a big play guy for the Eagles in a very limited role.

His value to the Eagles was diminished in 2009 by the emergence of the touted rookie receiver from Mizzou, Jeremy Maclin. Prior to the draft, I had high hopes for a productive Hank Baskett that season (not that I wasn’t excited to have Maclin).

When the time came to activate Vick, someone had to go. At that time, the Eagles had seven receivers on the roster. It was going to be either Hank Baskett, Reggie Brown or Brandon Gibson to be released (who was later traded for the recently released Will Witherspoon).

I believe that the coaching staff thought they may have found something special in Gibson and they wanted more time to evaluate him. The choices were then Brown or Baskett.

In the end, the final decision to release Hank Baskett rather than Reggie Brown was primarily based on Brown’s marginally higher trade value in part, but moreover, hefty salary cap penalties for terminating his contract.

So time has passed.

Now, Gibson and Brown have been traded and Kevin Curtis’ future remains uncertain. The Eagles are in a position to evaluate new talent at the fourth and fifth receiver positions. Jordan Norwood (5′11″, 179) from Penn State and Dobson Collins (6′2″, 178) from Gardner-Webb are the young receivers that are slated for that competition.

Returning from the injured reserve, tight end Cornelius Ingram may also get consideration for some new receiving duties out of the slot. 

I still expect to see a further injection of competition at receiver. 

Signing an inexpensive free agent that can compete for the number four or five wide receiver position is something that I would expect the Eagles’ front office to do.

Baskett is just one season removed from the offense and his familiarity with the scheme and the players would be a plus. Baskett also offers a large target option at receiver that the Eagles did not have in 2009.

What has he done lately?

As almost everyone knows, Baskett was signed and disappeared in Indianapolis until he clumsily redirected a surprise onside kick with his helmet during one of the more memorable plays in the history of the super bowl.

He was not tendered by the Colts and is currently an unrestricted free agent.

Indianapolis can’t have anything good to say about Baskett and Philadelphia was subtly split as to his perceived ability. He was stiff at times, slow in getting off the line and somewhat inconsistent, but he can contribute on special teams, as a run blocker and be a real threat on the field in spread formations or short yardage.

Baskett has been in the NFL for four seasons. He is a young veteran that has had success, doesn’t have a dirty injury history, knows the system and could fill a role. 

I like Hank Baskett as a fit for the Eagles 2010 training camp and possibly the 53-man roster.

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Inside the banquet hall, a humbled but defiant Michael Vick was honored Tuesday night as one of 32 NFL players to receive the Ed Block Courage Award. Outside, dozens of protesters expressed dismay over his nomination. The award is presented to players who exemplify commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage.

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BALTIMORE – Michael Vick says the Philadelphia Eagles exercised their 2010 option on him, meaning the quarterback will receive a US$1.5 million roster bonus sometime this week.

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Michael Vick says the Philadelphia Eagles exercised their 2010 option on him, meaning the quarterback will receive a $1.5 million roster bonus sometime this week. That doesn't necessarily guarantee he'll return to the Eagles for another season. Vick was signed as a free agent with Philadelphia before the 2009 season and played sparingly as the backup to Donovan McNabb.

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You all knew I would weigh in on the Eagles’ biggest offseason story eventually, right?

Well, much like the team, I’ve taken my time.

See, the Eagles seem content to go into 2010 with three quarterbacks all in the final year of their contracts. Apparently, what some see as a circus, they see as a minute detail.

But allow me to play devil’s advocate for a moment and say this: If one bird has to have his wings clipped, wouldn’t it make the most sense for it to be the biggest?

Yes, that may sound like blasphemy. Heck, as a fan, I don’t even want to say it—Donovan McNabb’s No. 5 was only the second Eagles jersey I ever purchased, and of the four I count in my closet today, his is the only one that is not yet a throwback.

But it’s time for the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense to grow, instead of growing old.

And for that to happen optimally, McNabb would have to be out of the picture.

This isn’t a similar situation to Brian Westbrook, or even to Brian Dawkins. McNabb can clearly still play at a high level, and any move that results in him no longer being an Eagle wouldn’t be a huge surprise.

No, it’s more about turning the corner.

Forget the arguments that the team is “stagnant” or that McNabb has never won anything. Neither did Dan Marino, but the Dolphins stuck with him until he could barely walk because they knew he gave them the best chance to do so.

The problem is that I’m not so sure McNabb is in that same position anymore.

Even though he’s only 33 (34 in November), McNabb has become a one-dimensional quarterback. Not only are his days of trying to be Vince Young over, his days of even channeling that spirit once in a blue moon are over.

Barring the 2005 season he missed almost half of, McNabb had a career-low 140 rushing yards last season. That comes on the heels of 2008, when he set his previous career low: 147.

Okay, so had he not missed two-and-a-half games due to injury and time in others due to the Wildcat, chances are he would’ve gotten eight more yards, but the point remains that the days of him being a threat to run in any situation are over.

Sure, a career rap sheet including a broken ankle, a torn ACL, a sports hernia, and broken ribs on a touchdown carry will do that to you.

But, what inspires more confidence out of your quarterback: him scrambling to try and make something happen, or him throwing a ball at a receiver’s feet because he doesn’t want to try?

If McNabb won’t (or can’t) move, he becomes a pocket passer—and as good of a quarterback as McNabb is, he’s NEVER been a straight pocket guy.

So if the only attribute he brings to the table that Kevin Kolb doesn’t is experience, why not make a change?

Kolb has good size (6’3”, 220 lbs.), great arm strength (which means he can hit DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin on those long routes), and is an adequate runner for someone his size—which isn’t any worse than McNabb at this point.

Plus, he’ll barely be 26 this season, which fits in with the youth movement on offense. After McNabb, the only other offensive player on the roster—lineman or skill—who has seen his 30th birthday as of March 1 is Kevin Curtis.

With Leonard Weaver (28 in September), Jason Avant (27 in April), Brent Celek (25), Jeremy Maclin (22 in May), and LeSean McCoy (22 in July) under contract for at least three more years and DeSean Jackson next in line for an extension, it would make sense to plug in the younger quarterback.

Give this team a season to grow—and it may take that, as Aaron Rodgers and the Packers proved—and they could have something special.

Otherwise, when 2013 comes along and most of that core is in or approaching their walk years, they’ll be looking at an offense with a 36-year-old signal-caller rapidly becoming a shell of his former self.

Makes sense, no?

And hey, if the Birds do this and stink in 2010, they at least have the uber-exciting Michael Vick (who is only going to be 30 himself) waiting in the wings, and can look for a franchise passer in 2011.

In conclusion, if the Eagles can get any high-round pick or more for McNabb, now might be the time, when he still has a few good years left in him but not enough to still be the cornerstone of the franchise.

Teams will bite—just ask Brett Favre.

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Jamaal Jackson’s knee injury will most likely not allow him to start the season on the field. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Jackson on the PUP when 2010 kicks off, so the Eagles are going to need a center to fill in for at least six weeks.

Currently, Nick Cole, Mike McGlynn, and A.Q. Shipley are the only guys who can play center on the roster. Cole and McGlynn are guards first who can play center in a squeeze, while Shipley is the only true center.

Shipley, however, is extremely young and has no playing experience. It’s going to be difficult for him to pick up the entire offense and be able to make the line calls. Cole had been playing on the line all season long, but couldn’t make the calls when he was put in the driver’s seat, so it’s no walk in the park.

Hank Fraley, however, would be a guy who could come in on day one, make all the necessary calls, and run this offensive line without a hitch. He did it for five seasons in Philly before spending the last three in Cleveland, so we know he can do it again.

The coach hasn’t changed, the quarterback hasn’t changed, and the offensive coordinator hasn’t changed, so coming in and retaking his old position with his former team shouldn’t take anything more than a refresher course through training camp.

He will already know the offense and, maybe most importantly, he’ll have a rapport with Donovan McNabb. The only obstacle will be creating a rapport with Todd Herremans and whoever starts at right guard (most likely Stacy Andrews).

That, however, will come during the offseason.

The move makes too much sense to ignore. They need a veteran to fill in for Jackson until he’s healthy enough to come back, so who better to do it than the guy who lost the job to him in 2006?

Fraley isn’t a superstar, but he would certainly be a good option until Jackson gets off the PUP, and could even fill in for the entire season if Jackson has a couple setbacks and is forced to miss all of 2010.

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