Philly lets Garcia go

[DesertCat]

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Reading between the lines, it seemed to me that Garcia wanted what would amount to starter's money. The Eagles probably could have made more of an effort to sign him but they're not going to pay him what he wants to be a backup. And yes they do want to avoid a QB controversy as well.

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Really? Everything I've read said the team and Garcia had not had any communication at all about what he wanted or what they'd be willing to pay, and they signed Feeley before even speaking to him. That's what I thought was so odd about it.

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From ESPN.

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There were rumblings the past few days that Philadelphia officials, apparently convinced they could not strike a deal with Garcia before the start of the free agency period on March 2, had turned their attentions to Feeley, a six-year veteran.

Steve Baker, the agent for Garcia, said here Sunday afternoon that the Eagles preferred to have a deal in place with his client before free agency started. Apparently, Garcia asked for a five-day grace period at the outset of unrestricted free agency, one that would permit him to test the market and gauge his value, before determining whether to re-sign with the Eagles.

"Once we would not agree with their ultimatum," Baker said, "they apparently moved on to [Feeley] to get a deal there. But Jeff will be fine."

While the move is somewhat surprising, given that Garcia posted a 5-1 record and led the Eagles to a playoff berth after replacing the injured Donovan McNabb, it is not altogether shocking. At age 29, Feeley is nearly eight full years younger than Garcia, and the staff in Philadelphia, including head coach Andy Reid, holds him in high regard.

"I was surprised I wasn't offered a contract. There was never anything to negotiate over," Garcia said Monday in an interview with Comcast SportsNet. "We never know what it would've amounted to. It wasn't about the money. It was about being in a great situation."

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There was some level of communication going on, maybe not formal offer, but it sounds like Garcia's agent made it clear how much he wanted. Apparently the Eagles didn't want to wait through five days of free agency to see if he'd come back cheap.

[Magra]

Do you think the Jets could pick him up, and let him challenge Chad for the starting spot? Even if Chad gets it, he's able to get injured, and having Jeff would not hurt

[duracell]

These have been mentioned before, but it really made little sense for the Eagles to resign Garcia. Any knowledgeable Philly fan will tell you so. The reasons are:

1) McNabb is the guy for the Eagles. Only a small minority of fans here think otherwise.

2)Feeley is a quality backup. In 2002, he filled in just as well as Garcia did this past year. Feeley is 8 years younger than Garcia. Also, he is much more similar to McNabb than Garcia is. Although the Eagles run a west-coast offense, they also rely heavily on the big play.

3) The Eagles don't have enough cap room to afford throwing money around to backup quarterbacks. They have needs to fill on defense and they need to resign important role-players (like they just did with Mikell, and reportedly will with Jaqua Thomas). If Garcia had taken a 1 year/$1 million dollar deal I would love to have him back, but realistically he wasn't going to accept that offer, nor could the FO afford to give him much more than that.

[Suigin406]

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Do you think the Jets could pick him up, and let him challenge Chad for the starting spot? Even if Chad gets it, he's able to get injured, and having Jeff would not hurt

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i understand it's a business and a good backup QB is nice to have, but pennington finally had a season where he started all 16 games, it looks like he's back to being an effective QB...and to bring in garcia looks like it would not be a positive thing...also, while ramsey isn't great by any means, he's shown he's servicable...

as a jets fan, i hope they pass on garcia...

[wh1t3bread]

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Do you think the Jets could pick him up, and let him challenge Chad for the starting spot? Even if Chad gets it, he's able to get injured, and having Jeff would not hurt

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First of all no one is going to challenge Pennington for the starters job next year. Mangini has already named him the starter. Pennington is the leader of that team, the only way he's not starting is if his robo-arm falls off again.

Second of all the Jets already have 3 quarterbacks under contract next year. However, Ramsey is most likely gone by the weekend. If he's not traded by COB Friday then he will be released. I believe the Jets owe him a $1.4M roster bonus on March 3rd if he is still on the team. So he is probably good as gone.

So assuming the Jets do rid themselves of that Skins 1st round busto they will be in the market for a 3rd string QB (Vinny off the couch again perhaps? [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]), not a 2nd stringer like Garcia. If Pennington goes down you are going to see Clemens. This team is rebuilding, don't let that playoff appearance last year fool you.

[CharlieDontSurf]

I'd be shocked if Gruden doesn't go after him.

[Sluss]

I was convinced the Phillies had let Freddy Garcia go and had a slight heart attack when I read the Subject.

As for the Eagles and Garcia, Who didn't see this coming? Garcia was going to want money, the Eagles would be stupid to overpay an old back-up QB who has had 5 good games in the last 3 years.

I love people that act like the Eagles were a much better offense with Garcia at QB. Sit down and watch the two Saints games from this year and tell me which Eagles offense was better.

I'm 99% convinced the Bears won't bother. Of course I was also 99% convinced they would offer Lovie Smith the money he deserves. So who the hell knows. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[TheRover]

Pretty clearly the right move, don't know why anyone is arguing otherwise.

[PokerFink]

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This is why the Eagles compete every year. They manage their money well and bail out when most people think they should overpay and hang onto a player for 1-2 more years (see Bobby Taylor, Troy Vincent, etc). Feeley fits in well in this system, was significantly cheaper than Garcia and is 7 years younger.

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Bingo.

Feeley knows the system and is a perfectly capable backup QB in it. His Philly stats are miles ahead of his Miami stats, just like Garcia's Philly stats are miles ahead of his Detroit/Cleveland stats. Our offensive system works.

As others have said, the Eagles have much more pressing needs than backup QB. There has been little chance of Garcia coming back for some time now, and I'd much rather them re-sign guys like Mikell and Thomas.

[SoloAJ]

Just to chime in, Detroit fans would not say Garcia sucks...the offensive line and management has been and always will be the problem....Sure still is.

Harrington might have been a good player if he was on a team with an offensive line.