Eagles trade Matt Barkley to Cardinals before Tim Tebow decision

The Eagles have paved the way to keep Tim Tebow on the 53-man roster by trading quarterback Matt Barkley to the Arizona Cardinals for a conditional late-round draft pick.

The Eagles confirmed the deal, first reported by Jay Glazer of Fox Sports. The Eagles will get a seventh-round pick if Barkley is on the Cardinals’ roster for six games this season.

Tebow hasn’t been on an NFL roster since the end of the 2012 season. He was cut in training camp by the Patriots in 2013. But the Eagles signed Tebow in April after he worked extensively on his throwing motion and accuracy with former pitching coach Tom House.

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The Eagles, like every NFL team, have to trim their roster from 75 to 53 by 4 p.m. on Saturday. They were already deep into that process Friday when the trade was made, releasing about half of the 22.

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Tebow and Barkley were competing for the third-string quarterback job, which Tebow appeared to win after he completed 11 of 17 passes for 189 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception, in the Eagles’ 24-18 loss to the Jets in the preseason finale on Thursday. He also ran for 32 more yards on four carries. Barkley, whom the Eagles drafted in the fourth round in 2013, went 4-for-9 for 45 yards and an interception.

But Barkley, a record-setting quarterback at Southern Cal and in the Pac-12 as a four-year starter, could never climb above third string. And he couldn’t separate himself from Tebow during OTAs, training camp and the four preseason games. And with all things being equal, Tebow gives the Eagles another dimension with his running ability.

Barkley was 27 of 52 for 351 yards, with no TDs and two interceptions in the preseason. Tebow was 21 of 36 for 286 yards, with 2 TDs and an interception. Tebow also ran 14 times for 82 yards and a touchdown. He could easily come onto the field in short-yardage situations and two-point conversion attempts to run the read-option, rather than risk starter Sam Bradford and his twice-repaired ACL.

Frank also writes for the (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal.

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