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NFL owners set to meet

When the NFL holds its annual owners meetings in Orlando, starting today, two of the more hotly discussed topics will be overtime and Donovan McNabb.

Eagles coach Andy Reid is among the executives attending the NFL owners meetings in Orlando.  (David Maialetti / Staff Photographer)
Eagles coach Andy Reid is among the executives attending the NFL owners meetings in Orlando. (David Maialetti / Staff Photographer)Read more

When the NFL holds its annual owners meetings in Orlando, starting today, two of the more hotly discussed topics will be overtime and Donovan McNabb.

A vote to alter the league's overtime rules in the postseason will be a subject debated front and center over four days. Talk of McNabb and whether the Eagles will actually pull the trigger and trade their quarterback will be left to the back rooms and corridors.

Of course, hanging over the meetings like an ominous cloud will be the league's labor uncertainty and the threat of a lockout in 2011.

For the Eagles, the "McNabb situation" takes precedence, although the potential for no football next season could influence their decision on what to do at quarterback.

All four of the Eagles' power brokers - owner Jeff Lurie, president Joe Banner, coach Andy Reid, and general manager Howie Roseman - will be at the meetings. Reid, for the record, has stated several times since the end of the season that McNabb is his starting quarterback. Banner and Roseman have said that the final decision rests with Reid.

And yet no one seems to believe that McNabb is not on the market for the right price. The fact that all three of the Eagles' quarterbacks - Kevin Kolb, Michael Vick, and McNabb - are on the last year of their contracts would suggest that at least one is obtainable.

Vick has been dangled, but there haven't been many nibbles. The Eagles reportedly want a second-round draft pick in exchange for the 29-year-old. They say they're content with having Vick back as their third quarterback, but he has a big contract and wants to start. They may be able to wrestle a fifth- or sixth-round pick from another team just before the draft.

If McNabb is indeed for the taking, any real haggling won't occur until closer to the draft, which starts on April 22. That doesn't mean the Eagles won't use this week's meetings to gauge interest. The list of potential suitors for the 33-year-old is seemingly drying up.

Cleveland signed former Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme to a one-year, $7 million contract. The Seahawks gave Charlie Whitehurst starter's money - two years and $10 million - even though they have Matt Hasselbeck. The Rams and Bills are teams still in need of a starting quarterback. But McNabb has to be willing to go to those teams, and he likely won't go unless he has a contract extension.

The Eagles probably wouldn't accept anything less than a first-round pick in exchange for McNabb. They apparently haven't received an offer anywhere in that vicinity. The meetings' casual setting could cut through some red tape.

First and foremost, the owners must vote on what to do about overtime in the playoffs. The competition committee has recommended a rule that would allow the team that loses the coin toss to get possession if the other team scores a field goal on its first possession. If the team that won the coin toss scores a touchdown on its opening drive, the game would be over. If the score remains tied after two field-goal possessions, the game would go into sudden death.