Kolb Just Another Rob?

As of this writing, it has not been officially announced by the team, but Wikipedia identifies Kevin Kolb as "an American football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills."

So it must be true.

Just about every media outlet that cares about such things reported the same thing over the weekend, with even the NFL's official site saying the former Cardinal and Eagle agreed to terms on a two-year deal worth up to $13 million -- if he can win what is certain to be a scintillating quarterback competition with fellow two-time washout Tarvaris Jackson, someone named Aaron Corp and whichever rookie the Bills draft next month.

On the plus side, Philadelphia and Arizona each thought enough of the University of Houston product to make him their quarterback of the future. Each time, though, the future proved extremely fleeting.


Kolb's emergence in Philadelphia made Donovan McNabb expendable after the 2009 season, an adjective quickly applied to Kolb himself after an injury put Michael Vick on the field a year later.

He had showed enough, though, to convince Arizona to sign him to a five-year, $60 million deal. Two injury-riddled seasons -- a shoulder injury sustained against Buffalo, video of which is embedded in the link above, ended his 2012 season less than halfway through -- convinced the Cardinals that they were mistaken.

Before his shoulder gave out against the Bills, Kolb threw eight touchdown passes and three interceptions in leading Arizona to a 4-2 start last year. The most remarkable number from Kolb's time in red, though, is how many times he was sacked in the 14 games he got on the field -- 57.

Kolb was dropped just 20 times in 19 games with the Eagles, so you could blame Arizona's dismal offensive line and general offensive ineptitude for the spike.

You could also wonder if the beating Kolb received in the desert may have left him with a case of Rob Johnson Syndrome, a condition that dulls a promising quarterback's instincts, repeatedly causing him to take sacks when he should be getting rid of the ball.

Either way, it would be tough to make an argument that Kolb does not strengthen the Bills at the position. At least with the regular season more than five months away. He has clearly been a better traditional passer than Jackson, though somewhat less athletic and significantly less durable.

Possessing two quarterbacks with both starting and backup experience also figures to allow Buffalo more flexibility in the draft. With only Jackson and Corp around, General Manager Emeritus Buddy Nix and his successor, Doug Whaley, would have been all but forced to take a quarterback in the first round, even if it meant reaching to do so.

That option is still there, if the front office, along with Doug Marrone and offensive coordinator Paul Hackett, feel strongly that one of the less-than-acclaimed prospects at the position could play right away, or at least take over at some point this season.

Only Geno Smith of West Virginia and USC's Matt Barkley are consensus first-round picks. The Bills worked Smith out last week and are scheduled to do the same with Barkley in the next few days. If they're not sold on either with the eighth overall pick, the addition of Kolb allows them to consider waiting until the second round or later.

Which might not be the worst thing, since two of last year's breakout quarterbacks, Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson, were drafted in the second and third rounds of their respective drafts.

Of course, Trent Edwards was also a third-round pick.

Then again, J.P. Losman went in the first.

All of which makes signing Kolb seem like a sensible move, under the circumstances.

At least for now.