The Eagles currently have 4 QBs on the roster. They are Nick Foles, Mark Sanchez, Matt Barkley and GJ Kinne. Seems simple enough.

Unless you count Brad Smith. He was a star QB at Missouri and has played some QB in the NFL.

And there is rookie LB Marcus Smith. He was a star QB in high school. Urban Meyer once saw him as the next Tim Tebow, if you can believe that. Rookie TE Trey Burton went to Florida to replace Tebow. He did play some QB for the Gators, but ended up getting moved around.

Oh yeah, rookie wideout Josh Huff was a QB in high school. Some guy named Chip Kelly brought him to Oregon as an offensive weapon. Huff started at RB, then became a WR.

Brandon Boykin split time at QB and CB when he was a prep star. So did Jaylen Watkins.

And we can’t forget Lane Johnson. That big son of a gun was a QB in junior college.

Is this by design? The answer is probably a mixture of yes and no. Chip Kelly touched on this in his press conference today when Les Bowen was asking about Josh Huff and his background. Kelly made the point that a lot of high schools put their best players at QB. Those guys then go on to play a variety of positions in college. Even some college QBs end up switching positions in the pros.

I think Kelly likes adding former QBs to the roster, but I see that as more of a bonus than a requirement. You don’t want to go around loading up on ex-QBs for the sake of it. The reason you like them is for their athletic ability. It doesn’t hurt that they often are pretty smart and have a good understanding of the game. Even at lower levels, the QB has a lot to think about on a given play.

Kelly wants smart, talented athletes. Find enough of those guys and you will have your share of ex-QBs.

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Someone asked Kelly about Matthew Tucker. Kelly said he’s looked good and is firmly entrenched as the #4 RB.

Kelly didn’t offer much beyond that in terms of Tucker pushing Chris Polk. Kelly did say the team liked what they saw from Tucker last summer and he seemed to be genuinely praising him. Sometimes you can tell when a coach is trying to be positive and other times he is being genuine.

If the team feels confident in Tucker, that may have been another factor that made them comfortable in trading Bryce Brown.

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Kelly had good things to say about WR Arrelious Benn, although the practice reports have been mixed. Some praise him, while others are not as impressed. I’m looking forward to seeing Benn in the upcoming preseason game. I liked him a lot coming out of college so I’m curious to see if he’s making a strong push for the roster or if he’s treading water.

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There were some Eagles ties to the Hall of Fame ceremonies last night. Claude Humphrey was a DE for the Eagles from 1978-81. He gave almost a 30-minute speech. PE.com has the video.

Eagles nemesis Michael Strahan was also inducted. In his speech, Strahan talked about former Eagles RT Jon Runyan.

Strahan just called former #Eagles Jon Runyan 6-9, 350 pounds of twisted steel and no sex appeal. Beautiful! #NFL — Ed Kracz (@kracze) August 3, 2014

Strahan talked about the many battles that he and Runyan had. Strahan admitted that he didn’t win them all. Runyan was on hand for the festivities and laughed at some of the barbs that came his way.

I was really happy for Strahan to mention Runyan. They faced each other from 2000-2007. There were also a couple of playoff games. They hated each other on gamedays, but also probably had a lot of respect for the other guy. Strahan was a great player. Runyan was one of the best RTs of his era.

As much as I hate Strahan, he gave a great speech. He talked about former players and told good stories.

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