The former star quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles is preparing for a comeback in the National Football League, according to ESPN.

He has been working with quarterbacks coach George Whitfield during the offseason. McNabb says that he is in great shape and has lost 15 to 20 pounds, although he also would not admit that he had ever been out of shape.

“It’s not really about that,” McNabb said on SportsCenter. “Because for me, people may have seen how strong I look. And they kind of equated that to ‘he may be out of shape,’ or whatever. But now that I’m lighter, people now all of a sudden say ‘well oh, now he’s in shape.’ I’ve been in shape.”

McNabb says that he really doesn’t care where he plays and has a full list of 32 NFL teams, of which none have made a move for the 35-year old.

McNabb’s career peaked during his 11 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he earned six Pro Bowl selections, and led the team to the NFC championship game five times, including an appearance in Super Bowl XXXIX.

But he was traded to the Washington Redskins on Easter in 2010, and he struggled in Washington, throwing 14 touchdowns and 15 interceptions before he was benched for Rex Grossman late in the season. This came a few weeks after he signed a six-year, $78 million contract extension.

He was then traded to the Minnesota Vikings last July, and he opened the season as Minnesota’s starter. But he led the Vikings to just one victory in six games before he was benched for first round draft pick Christian Ponder. He was released in December and has not had a team since.

Speculation has arisen over the past year or so that the Eagles may bring back McNabb as the backup quarterback to Michael Vick but I just don’t see it happening. The overly criticized quarterback will likely not be signed by any team, if you ask me.

Peters was maneuvering his Roll-A-Bout in his kitchen when the device broke. He fell on his face and re-ruptured his Achilles tendon, according to a league source.

He just had a second surgery. The surgery set back his initial recovery time by three weeks. It also ended any chance that the five-time Pro Bowl tackle would play in 2012, although no one expected him to anyway.

Peters has announced that he is planning to sue the maker of the device.

Peters’ first Achilles injury occurred on March 27th when he was working out near his home in Texas. As a result of the injury, the Eagles signed free agent left tackle Demetress Bell, who had also been a teammate of Jason Peters’ when they were both on the Buffalo Bills.

Bell was signed to a five-year deal, although only one year of his contract is guaranteed. If he plays well in 2012, though, and Peters’ recovery doesn’t go as planned, Bell could become the Eagles’ left tackle of the future. With legendary offensive line coach Howard Mudd coaching him all offseason, expect Bell to have a productive season.

The second injury to Peters definitely puts his career in jeopardy. According to a study online, 67 percent of NFL players who suffer an Achilles tendon rupture are able to return to football, meaning that one-third never again return.

Because of Peters’ tremendous size (6’4 and probably close to 370 pounds), you have to wonder if he will be one of the unfortunate one-third who never again plays. This would be a terrible way to see the career of the NFL’s best offensive lineman end.

Peters was absolutely dominant in 2011, and it will be interesting to see how the Eagles’ offensive line does in 2012 after a very successful 2011 season.

They agreed on Tuesday with linebacker Mychal Kendricks, the Eagles’ first of two second round selections. On Wednesday, they agreed to four-year deals with defensive end Vinny Curry, the second of two second round draft picks, as well as offensive tackle Dennis Kelly, a fifth round draft pick, and wide receiver Marvin McNutt, a sixth round draft pick.

Each player is signed through the 2015 season.

The Eagles still need to agree to contracts with five of their draft picks, which includes defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, the team’s first round draft pick; quarterback Nick Foles, the team’s third round draft pick; cornerback Brandon Boykin, the team’s fourth round pick; offensive guard Brandon Washington, the team’s sixth round pick; and running back Bryce Brown, the team’s seventh round pick.

The good news is that the Eagles have all offseason to try to work out the contracts with their draft picks. They didn’t have the luxury of a full offseason last year, and it didn’t help when first round draft pick Danny Watkins, the team’s projected starting right guard, and the team couldn’t come to a contract agreement for the first two weeks of training camp.

I have complete confidence, however, that the Eagles will be able to sign each of their remaining five players to contracts, well before the start of training camp, which is scheduled to begin in late July, as usual.

Left guard Evan Mathis was a journeyman veteran who was not brought into camp to even compete for a starting job. Center Jason Kelce and right guard Danny Watkins were rookies, and right tackle Todd Herremans was still learning a position that he hadn’t played in seven years.

Only left tackle Jason Peters, a reigning four-time Pro Bowl selection, was completely stable on the line.

Yet against all odds, it was Mathis who turned in the most impressive season by an Eagles’ offensive lineman, according to Pro Football Focus. In fact, Mathis rated as the best offensive lineman in the entire league, registering a positive rating in all 15 games he played, and earning a five-year, $25 million contract extension following the season.

Heading into 2012, the Eagles are expected to be much better on the offensive line.

Mathis and Herremans return, and Kelce and Watkins should be a year better and more experienced. But the big blow came in late March when Peters was likely lost for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon, easily one of the most severe injuries a professional athlete can suffer.

To replace Peters, the Eagles signed Demetress Bell, formerly of the Buffalo Bills.

Bell was arguably the top talent on the free agent market and rated as a slightly above average starting offensive tackle during his four seasons in Buffalo. He did struggle with injuries though, and missed nine games in 2011.

With Bell already named the starter for 2012, is it possible that the 28-year old becomes the next Evan Mathis?

Bell will have a full offseason working with legendary offensive line coach Howard Mudd, unlike Mathis, who had just a few weeks with Mathis.

He’s always been a decent tackle but injuries have been his main concern. If he can stay healthy for the entire 2012 season, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him rate as one of the better offensive linemen in the NFL.

I think it’s impossible to project that any player could suddenly become as dominant as Evan Mathis was in 2011. But if Demetress Bell turned in a very good season for the Eagles in 2012, I wouldn’t be surprised at all.

It hasn’t received near the hype that linebacker or safety has, and rightfully so, but the truth is that the Eagles’ kick returners have been just dreadful recently.

The team hit rock bottom in 2011, as the Eagles averaged just 20.9 yards per kick return, with a long of 33 yards.

Rookie running back Dion Lewis handled the majority of the kick return duties, and was very consistent. Consistently subpar, that is. Lewis averaged 21.6 yards on 31 returns and never came close to breaking a return for a long gain.

Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie showed some promise, averaging 26 yards on two returns before injuring his ankle and missing three games late in the season.

And wide receiver Chad Hall and running back Ronnie Brown failed to impress in limited opportunities.

Heading into 2012, the Eagles need a kick returner who can at least occasionally break off a long return.

Thankfully, the team has a number of players who will be able to do just that.

Cornerback Brandon Boykin was drafted by the Eagles in the fourth round and will likely serve as the team’s slot corner. He won the Paul Hornung Award as the nation’s most versatile player in 2011, and returned four kicks for touchdowns during his college career.

Another option is rookie free agent wide receiver, Damaris Johnson, who enjoyed a record-setting career at Tulsa. Johnson broke the NCAA career record for total kickoff return yardage (3417 yards), including two touchdowns. Johnson has a lot of work to do to secure a spot on the roster for the 2012 Eagles, and a solid showing in special teams play at camp could go a long way.

The third option is wide receiver Mardy Gilyard, who was signed by the Eagles following the 2011 season. A fourth round pick of the St. Louis Rams in 2010, Gilyard didn’t play in the NFL in 2011 after the Rams released him before the start of the season. He was signed to a futures contract by the Eagles in January 2012. He has 16 career kick returns for 356 yards, an average of 22.3 yards per return. Those numbers are just average, but Gilyard could easily find himself as the team’s week one kick returner if he outshines Boykin and Johnson in camp.

Other options include rookie free agent cornerback Cliff Harris from Oregon, although he was mostly a punt returner during his college career, as well as rookie free agent running back Chris Polk, who returned kicks as a freshman at Washington in 2009.

And if worst comes to worst, the Eagles can default back to Lewis for another year. Hopefully a full offseason and a year of maturity and experience will make him a more efficient kick returner.

The eight players are as follows: running back Chris Polk from Washington, fullback/tight end Emil Igwenagu from UMass, wide receiver Damaris Johnson from Tulsa, wide receiver Darnell Williams from Louisiana College, wide receiver Elvis Akpla from Montana State, tight end Chase Ford from Miami, cornerback Cliff Harris from Oregon, and safety Phillip Thomas from Syracuse.

The biggest name is probably Chris Polk. Many speculated that he would be a mid-round draft pick, but nobody selected Polk, including the Eagles, who chose running back Bryce Brown instead of Polk in the seventh round.

Polk rushed for 1000 yards three times during his career at Washington, and ranked 11th in Division I this past year with 1488 rushing yards. He scored 12 touchdowns and averaged 5.1 yards per carry.

But he has had major injury concerns. He suffered a season-ending shoulder injury as a freshman and had three separate MRIs by doctors at the NFL Scouting Combine.

He is a low-risk, high-reward guy for the Eagles, and is expected to compete for a roster spot with running backs Dion Lewis and Bryce Brown.

Another intriguing signing by the Eagles is Damaris Johnson, who holds the NCAA Division I all-time record for career all-purpose yards, as well as the NCAA all-time record for kickoff return yardage. He topped 200 all-purpose yards in 19 career college games, and scored 29 touchdowns during his college career (17 receiving, 8 rushing, 2 kick returns, 2 punt returns).

However, Johnson has had some character issues. He was kicked off the Tulsa football team and left school for pleading guilty to felony embezzlement in connection with a case in which he was charged with receiving unpaid merchandise from a Macy’s department store where his friend worked.

The final big name for the Eagles is cornerback Cliff Harris.

Harris has also had some off-the-field issues. He was kicked off the Oregon football team in 2010 for a series of off-the-field issues of his own last season, including an incident in which he was caught by police for driving 118 miles per hour with a suspended license.

He was an All-American selection that same year though, and he tied for fifth in Division I football with six interceptions. He also returned four punts for touchdowns, including two in one game against New Mexico.

It will be interesting to see if any of these undrafted rookie free agents becomes a key contributor to the Eagles in 2012.

Their fourth round pick, a cornerback from Georgia named Brandon Boykin, was ranked by some draft experts as the third best cornerback prospect, trailing only Morris Claiborne and Dre Kirkpatrick. He is a natural slot corner, and will likely assume that role for the Eagles next season, especially since Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is a starting corner.

He grabbed nine interceptions throughout his three-year college career. He also handled kick return duties for three years, and punt return duties for his junior year. And he scored three touchdowns on offense in 2011, one on the ground and two through the air. His versatility was rewarded with the Paul Hornung Award as the nation’s best versatile player.

The only concern for Boykin is a fractured leg suffered at the Senior Bowl, but he should be completely healed by the start of the 2012 season.

In the fifth round, the Eagles selected offensive tackle Dennis Kelly out of Purdue. Kelly is a massive, massive person. He stands 6’8 and weighs 321 pounds, which caused head coach Andy Reid to compare him to former Eagles’ star tackles Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan.

Kelly wasn’t even invited to the NFL Scouting Combine but he is a quick, versatile offensive lineman, the kind that legendary coach Howard Mudd likes.

He provides depth at tackle. Left tackle Jason Peters, arguably the league’s best tackle, will likely miss the entire 2012 season with a ruptured Achilles tendon, suffered last month in a workout. The Eagles signed free agent Demtress Bell from the Bills to take Peters’ place. Todd Herremans is starting at right tackle for the second straight year, and backup King Dunlap was re-signed to a one-year deal.

In round six, the Eagles selected a wide receiver who some projected to go as high as the fourth round. Marvin McNutt, from Iowa, was brought to the Eagles’ attention because the son of defensive coordinator Juan Castillo is a cornerback at Iowa.

McNutt stands 6’3 and weighs 216 pounds. He is physical, has extremely good hands, and is very good after the catch. Reid said that McNutt will be brought in to challenge Riley Cooper and Chad Hall for the fourth and fifth wide receiver spots.

The Eagles also selected offensive tackle/guard Brandon Washington in the sixth round, a guy who many expected to go as high as the third or fourth round. He played guard as a freshman and a sophomore before switching to left tackle as a junior. He skipped his senior season of college to enter the NFL draft.

Reid said that Washington struggled a little in his transition to tackle but he was unbelievable as a guard, which is where the Eagles plan to use him.

In the seventh round, the Eagles selected running back Bryce Brown out of Kansas State.

Brown, 20, is an interesting story because he literally barely played college football. He was the top high school football recruit a few years ago, and carried 101 times for 460 yards as a freshman at Tennessee. He transferred to Kansas State to play with his brother, and sat out his sophomore season. As a junior, he carried three times in the season opener before suffering a high ankle sprain and reportedly walking out on his team, according to the Kansas City Star.

So he’s carried the football three times in the last two seasons, and he definitely has some character issues.

But he also has tremendous upside, and ran a 4.34 40 in high school. He is expected to compete for a roster spot in training camp.

So to recap, the Eagles’ draft included defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, linebacker Mychal Kendricks, defensive end Vinny Curry, quarterback Nick Foles, cornerback Brandon Boykin, offensive tackle Dennis Kelly, wide receiver Marvin McNutt, offensive guard/tackle Brandon Washington, and running back Bryce Brown.

That’s nine draft picks, five on offense, and four on defense. The defensive picks came early in the draft, while the Eagles focused on offense late in the draft. And more importantly, they stuck to their philosophy the entire draft, which was to take the best player available off the board, regardless of position or current need.

Foles is the first quarterback selected by the Eagles in the third round since Bobby Hoying in 1996.

Foles stands 6’5 and weighs 242 pounds. He runs between a 4.96 and a 5.14 in the 40-yard dash, depending on which source you believe. He is slow but very strong, and extremely tough.

In other words, he is the complete opposite of current Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, who stands just 6’0 (and is probably actually 5’11), weighs 215, is as fast as any quarterback in the National Football League, and is frequently injured.

Foles also has good arm strength and throws well on the move. He isn’t the best at reading defenses (not a good thing) but he reportedly spends a tremendous amount of time watching film and attempting to improve his game. He plays with heart and has been known to play through injuries.

Eagles’ offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said the following about Foles: “Many excellent qualities. Great size. Excellent arm. Good instincts.”

He originally opted to attend Arizona State but chose Michigan State instead. He was stuck on the depth chart behind Kirk Cousins (who many expected the Eagles to select ahead of Foles), so he transferred to Arizona, where he broke all of the school’s passing records.

He is expected to challenge for the team’s backup quarterback position in 2012 with Mike Kafka, a 2010 fourth round draft pick, and veteran Trent Edwards, who was signed following the 2011 season.

I also wonder if the pick means the Eagles are not confident on Mike Kafka, who has tremendous football knowledge but not a great arm. But I don’t think so.

My prediction heading into 2012 is that Vick is the starter, Kafka is the backup, and Foles is the third quarterback.

The Eagles originally had the 51st pick, but traded it to Green Bay, who selected defensive tackle Jerel Worthy. The Eagles moved down eight spots, but picked up an extra fourth round pick.

Curry, 23, was originally projected to be a late first round pick or an early second pick. The 6’3, 266-pound defensive end has an explosive first step and has been compared to Trent Cole.

Head coach Andy Reid said that the selection of Curry is simply taking the best player available on the draft board, which has been the Eagles’ strategy so far this year.

Curry almost certainly won’t start next season, because the Eagles have a pair of Pro Bowl caliber defensive ends in Trent Cole and Jason Babin, but he is expected to compete for playing time with 2010 first round draft pick Brandon Graham, veteran Darryl Tapp, and former CFL sack leader Phillip Hunt. According to Reid, Curry has one speed: 100 miles per hour.

The current speculation on Twitter, and I would agree, is that Tapp is on his way out of Philly. He’s 28, and is expected to make $2.4 million next season, which is more than the Eagles need to pay a backup.

The Eagles ranked first in the entire NFL in sacks last season. In 2012, they will return Babin and Cole. They add a fully healthy Brandon Graham, a more experienced Phillip Hunt, and a rookie playmaker in Vinny Curry. They also return Cullen Jenkins, the best pass-rushing defensive tackle in the NFL, as well as Patterson, Landri, a healthy Dixon, and rookie first round draft pick Fletcher Cox.

The Eagles are clearly focusing on defense in the 2012 NFL draft, and I love it. I absolutely love it. This is the first time in a while I can think of the Eagles keeping their fans happy (not that that’s the most important thing, but it’s still nice), and selecting players who are all considered to be steals.

Kendricks, 21, was the third rated outside linebacker in the draft, and the 57th rated overall player, according to NFL Draft Scout. He stands 5’11 and weighs 240 pounds. He runs a 4.47 in the 40-yard dash, which is extremely fast for a linebacker. According to NFL Draft Scout, he is the fastest linebacker in 12 years, since 2000. He’s also the shortest linebacker in the draft, which is the biggest reason why he dropped to the second round.

According to former Indianapolis Colts General Manager Bill Polian, Kendricks is the best pass-rushing linebacker in the entire draft, besides Luke Kuechly, who went ninth overall to the Carolina Panthers. Former NFL Super Bowl winning head coach Jon Gruden compared Kendricks to a young Lance Briggs. In fact, Kendricks was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year last season.

He is expected to compete for a starting job at strongside linebacker. I expect him to win the starting job in training camp, meaning the Eagles will enter next season with two new linebackers: DeMeco Ryans and Mychal Kendricks. Jamar Chaney will likely be the starting weak side linebacker.

The Eagles’ new crop of linebackers is expected to drastically improve their run defense in 2011, which struggled, especially in the new wide-nine scheme. Casey Matthews, who opened last season at middle linebacker, was the biggest reason for the team’s struggles, and he will undoubtedly open the 2012 season on the bench.

Kendricks’ speed will be very useful against new Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, arguably the fastest quarterback in the National Football League.