Eagles Trade Barkley, Cuts Begin With Bailey, Moffitt
PHILADELPHIA - After a disastrous final push for a roster spot the Eagles traded quarterback Matt Barkley to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Barkey's exit could pave the way for Tim Tebow's place on the team although nothing had been finalized by Friday afternoon.
A former fourth-round pick in the '13 draft, Barkley arrived in Philadelphia after a stellar career at Southern California where he finished his college career as the all-time leading passer in school as well as Pac-12 Conference history, tossing for over 12,000 yards and tossing 116 touchdowns.
That success was never duplicated with the Eagles, however, as Barkley appeared in just three games off the bench in '13, completing 60 percent of his passes for 300 yards
In four preseason games, Barkley led Philadelphia with 351 passing yards but connected on only 27-of-52 passes, while being badly outplayed by Tebow in Thursday's game against the Jets.
In other roster news, Philadelphia native Rasheed Bailey headlined the Eagles early cuts in an effort to get down to the NFL-mandated limit of 53.
Bailey, a wide receiver who went to Roxborough High School and Division III Delaware Valley, became a fan favorite with a strong preseason but faced a tough numbers game at a position which includes emerging star Jordan Matthews and first-round pick Nelson Agholor.
The undrafted rookie, who caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Tebow in the preseason finale against the Jets last night, is expected to be brought back to Philadelphia's practice squad if he clears waivers.
Others released by the Birds so far, according to both media reports and NFL sources, include offensive guard John Moffitt, two 2015 draft picks, sixth-round corner Randall Evans and seventh-round pick Brian Mihalik, a defensive end out of Boston College, and rookie runner back Raheem Mostert, who led the NFL in yards from scrimmage in the preseason .
Punter/kicker Kip Smith, former Rutgers wide receiver and Palmyra, New Jersey native Quron Pratt, offensive linemen Julian Vandervelde, Malcolm Bunche and Brett Boyko, tight ends Eric Tomlinson and Andrew Gleichert, defensive lineman Travis Raciti, linebacker Deontae Skinner and safeties Chris Prosinski and Ed Reynolds were also released.
Moffitt, a former third-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks, was attempting to kick-start his career after two years away from the game sue to some serious off-the-field issues. He has been working exclusively at right guard but wasn't able to push Andrew Gardner for the starting spot nor flash enough versatility to be kept around as a backup.
-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973espn.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen@phanaticmag.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
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