The Philadelphia Eagles are going to sign former Buffalo Bills quarterback Trent Edwards for a backup quarterback role, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Thursday. This almost certainly means that Vince Young's contributions as an Eagle will come out to three 2011 starts, nine interceptions, two losses, one somewhat inexplicable victory over the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants and the historically unfortunate decision to utter the words "dream team" when asked last summer how he would describe the Eagles' slew of free-agent signings.

Edwards is to compete with Mike Kafka for the job of No. 2 quarterback behind Michael Vick. This is not an insignificant thing, because Vick generally does not make it through an entire year without missing at least some games due to injury. Edwards worked out for the Eagles recently, has some experience running a West Coast offense and fits the description of experienced veteran unlikely to fall completely apart if he finds himself thrust into the role of starting NFL quarterback for a couple of weeks.

Edwards is 28 years old. He did not play in the NFL last year. He started two games for the Bills and one for the Jaguars in 2010. He was Buffalo's starting quarterback for most of 2007 and 2008. If he has to play a significant number of games in 2012, the Eagles are probably toast. But he's a backup quarterback, and they needed one. They weren't going to go with Young again. He becomes a free agent.