Kolb drops in for Eagles' informal workouts

Kevin Kolb wants to get a haircut.

The Eagles quarterback returned to the Philadelphia area and participated in informal workouts with his teammates for the first time on Thursday. Sporting shaggy hair and a goatee, Kolb - the poster player for NFL lockout sob stories - looked as if he was boycotting the barber until his future was resolved.

"I'm not getting a haircut until I'm at a press conference with my next team or this team," Kolb said, repeating a joke he has made to friends.

The way the lockout is going he may end up looking like Cousin It before he visits the barber's chair.

Nearly three months into the work stoppage, Kolb's situation remains one of the hot topics of the offseason. The backup quarterback wants to start for another team, and the Eagles seem willing to oblige him. But the lockout has both in a holding pattern.

"It's hard when it has to do with my life," Kolb said moments after tossing passes to Eagles receivers at Memorial Park in Evesham, N.J. "But I keep a positive attitude and keep moving forward and whatever happens, I'll be ready to roll."

If the lockout had ended before the draft, Kolb would have likely been dealt for 2011 draft picks. But with a shorter list of quarterback-needy teams now and the probability of the lockout lasting until just before the season - thus scaring away teams from adding a new arm - Kolb may face another season as the Eagles' backup.

"I want an opportunity," Kolb said. "If the situation can't be avoided, I'm not going to sit there and be a turd. It's not my style. I think I've voiced my opinion, and there's nothing else I can do."

When the lockout was briefly lifted before the draft, Kolb said that he took the opportunity to text-message Eagles coach Andy Reid but not to talk about his dilemma.

"He brought it up," Kolb said. "I said, 'Coach, I didn't even call you to talk about that.' . . . He threw in there at the very end: 'I'll do what's best for you.' "

With the Eagles committed to Michael Vick as the starter, Kolb said a fresh start is what's best. Many have identified the Arizona Cardinals as the likely landing spot. A reporter kiddingly asked if Kolb was scouting out homes in the Phoenix area.

He was not. Kolb has spent most of the offseason at his home base in Granbury, Texas, fishing and ranching and spending time with his wife, Whitney, and his two daughters. He said he has been working out and throwing to Dallas-based receivers, including the Eagles' Chad Hall.

But he said he got the itch to join the Eagles' pickup practices about a week and a half ago.

"I said, 'Man, it's time,' " Kolb said. "So I just booked a flight and came on up. I think I called Brent [Celek] 18 hours in advance and said, 'Hey, come pick me up at the airport. I'm going to stay with you for a week.' "

Celek and Vick have organized the workouts that began about a week ago. Celek said he had no problem inviting Kolb even though they may not be teammates next season.

"He's still a Philadelphia Eagle," Celek said.

Kolb said he landed in Philly on Wednesday and then played golf with a group of Eagles. He plans on practicing again Friday and will stay through the weekend before heading back home.

Kolb and Eagles third-string quarterback Mike Kafka handled all the throws to Celek and wide receivers Jeremy Maclin, Jason Avant, and Riley Cooper, among a few others, on Thursday.

"It was good to get back out here, more than just the throwing, [but] to be around the guys again," Kolb said.

Vick did not attend, likely because he had a speaking engagement scheduled in the afternoon at Martin Luther King High. Vick and Kolb remain close and have spoken regularly during the offseason, Kolb said, although their future as teammates remained unaddressed.

"We don't even talk about it," Kolb said. "We talk about fishing."