Eagles reportedly trade Matt Barkley to Cardinals, leaving Tim Tebow as the team's 3rd QB

The Philadelphia Eagles traded quarterback Matt Barkley to the Arizona Cardinals, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. The Cardinals sent a conditional seventh-round pick to the Eagles in the trade, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. The conditions state that Eagles get the pick if Barkley is on Arizona's roster for six games of the regular season.

Barkley was engaged in a battle with Tim Tebow for the third quarterback spot on the Eagles' roster, behind starter Sam Bradford and backup Mark Sanchez. Tebow outplayed Barkley in the preseason, especially so in the team's preseason finale against the New York Jets on Thursday.

Barkley completed 4 of 9 passes for 45 yards with an interception in that game, while Tebow threw for 189 yards with two touchdowns and an interception of his own. Barkley was likely to be released at some point prior to Saturday's roster deadline, but he likely would have been one of the more sought-after backup quarterbacks, so it makes sense for Arizona to get a deal done sooner rather than later.

The Eagles are still in the process of cutting their roster ahead of Saturday's 4 p.m. ET deadline. It's still early to say for sure, but trading Barkley certainly ups the odds that Chip Kelly's team will keep Tebow as a third-string quarterback.

A fourth-round pick by the Eagles in 2013, Barkley played in just four regular-season games over the course of his career. He's completed 30 of 50 passes for 300 yards with no touchdowns and four interceptions in those games. Barkley was so-so during this year's preseason, throwing a couple interceptions and no touchdowns.

Arizona's starting quarterback is Carson Palmer, with Drew Stanton as his primary backup and Logan Thomas the third string. The team released Phillip Sims on Friday, and Barkley's presence could put Thomas' job in danger as well.