By Peter Gleason
It is Saturday afternoon and, since the Eagles traded a couple of picks in the NFL draft, let’s get back to the Eagles’ attempt to dislodge Marcus Mariota from the grasp of the Tennessee Titans.
Eagles coach Chip Kelly acknowledges that he would have liked to trade up and draft his old Oregon quarterback, Mariota. But Kelly says that a trade with the Titans wasn’t something the Eagles could afford.
“We examined it,” Kelly said on NFL Network. “I would say we were not very close, in terms of the price that was being asked. I used the analogy the other day that we drove into a very nice neighborhood and saw an unbelievable house, but when we found out the price of the house we stayed in the car, never even got out of the car.”
Kelly said that in his opinion, the Titans were smart to turn down his trade offer.
“I would have done the same thing if I was Tennessee. I think he’s an outstanding player and even better person, and he’s going to be a heck of a player in the NFL. I wouldn’t have traded him if I had the No. 2 pick,” Kelly said.
Kelly didn’t give any details about what he offered or what the Titans were asking for. But suffice to say, Kelly offered a lot and the Titans wanted even more.
