The St. Louis Rams are in the market for a quarterback, and all of the trade speculation has the Rams interested in one of the Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks: Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick or Kevin Kolb. The Rams would be interested in all three of the Eagles quarterbacks, but the name that continues to be linked with the Rams is Vick. It was reported earlier this week by multiple media outlets that the Eagles would likely hold onto Vick until the preseason to create a larger trade market for the former No. 1 overall draft pick. If this report is true, and the Rams are unable to workout a deal with the Eagles prior to the draft for Vick, I’ve been told by two sources that the Rams are prepared to turn to option B, and the alternative involves a potential blockbuster trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In addition to finding a franchise quarterback, the Rams are interested in trading out of the top spot in this year’s draft, moving down a few spots and acquiring additional draft picks and players. I’ve been told that the Rams and Buccaneers have had exploratory discussions on a deal, which would involve the team’s first round selections (No. 1 and 3), possibly one of the Buccaneers second round picks (they have two picks in the second round: No. 35 and 42) or their third round pick (No. 67). Again, these discussions have been exploratory, as the Rams continue to investigate all of their options, but the deal involving the Rams and Bucs first round picks and Tampa Bay’s third round pick, not one of their second-round picks, is where it gets interesting.
A source close to the situation in St. Louis told me that if a deal with the Eagles can’t be consummated prior to the draft, they may take the Bucs third round pick over one of their second round picks, because they’re “very high” on third-year quarterback Josh Johnson, who they would insist being in a potential trade with Tampa Bay. Rams officials compare Johnson favorably to Vick athletically, but they feel that he has a greater upside as a passer.
