As expected, quarterback Kevin Kolb (foot) is among the Cardinals inactive. He’ll miss his second consecutive game.

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The team’s best two receiving tight ends, Todd Heap (hamstring) and Rob Housler (groin) also are inactive.

The other inactive players are: WR Stephen Williams, safety Kerry Rhodes, linebacker Jerry Porter and offensive lineman D’Anthony Batiste.

Eagles receiver and punt returner DeSean Jackson will be inactive today against the Cardinals because he missed a team meeting on Saturday, according to Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News.

That’s a break for the Cardinals, obviously, because Jackson is the Eagles’ best deep threat. On the Eagles depth chart, Jason Avant is listed as Jackson’s backup.

PHILADELPHIA (AP)—Two people familiar with the situation said Philadelphia
Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson(notes) is inactive against Arizona on Sunday
because he missed a team meeting.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday because the team did not
officially announce the punishment. Jackson skipped a meeting on Saturday. It
wasn’t the first time Jackson has been late or missed a meeting, one person
said, calling this the “final straw.” He has 29 catches for 503 yards and two
touchdowns this season.

Jason Avant(notes) replaces Jackson in the starting lineup. Free safety Nate Allen(notes)
(concussion) and left guard Evan Mathis(notes) (toe) also are inactive. Rookie Jaiquawn
Jarrett(notes) takes Allen’s spot and King Dunlap(notes) fills in for Mathis.

For Arizona, quarterback Kevin Kolb(notes) is inactive for the second straight game
because of turf toe. John Skelton(notes) starts in his place. Kolb began last season as
Philadelphia’s No. 1 quarterback, but lost his job to Michael Vick(notes) after
sustaining a concussion in Week 1. He was traded for cornerback Dominique
Rodgers-Cromartie(notes) and a draft pick.

Jackson is in the final year of his rookie contract and held out for 11 days
during training camp.

Jackson had 110 catches for 2,223 yards and 15 TDs as a receiver the last
two years and already owns the franchise record with four punt returns for
scores.

The Philadelphia Eagles face the Arizona Cardinals in a big game on November 13. Philadelphia has a 3-5 record and this is a game they have to win if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive. But there is some extra drama involving this game. It will mark the return of Kevin Kolb(notes) to Philadelphia. As an Eagles fan, I don’t expect Kolb to get a lot of heat from the Philadelphia crowd. However, it should be interesting for fans to see the man that was once considered the quarterback of the future here.

The Eagles entered the 2010 season ready to begin the Kevin Kolb era. However, an injury in the season opener paved the way for Michael Vick(notes). Vick’s stellar play earned him the starting job and a big contract. That made Kolb expendable. The Eagles dealt him to Arizona shortly after the lockout ended and Kolb signed a new deal with the Cardinals. Just like that, the Kevin Kolb era was over just as soon as it began.

Kolb’s return to Philadelphia is interesting. The quarterback is fired up about playing here. This game clearly means a lot to him. There is a small chance that Kolb might not play. He missed Arizona’s game on November 6 with a turf toe injury. Most assume that Kolb will be ready to play in this game but there is a chance that he could miss it. Obviously, that would kill the drama of his return.

Assuming Kolb does play, I don’t expect Philadelphia fans to care as much as he does. Kolb really wasn’t here long enough to accomplish anything. It’s not like he burned any bridges so I don’t expect fans to be bitter toward him. On top of that, he has really struggled in Arizona. The Cardinals are a bad football team and Kolb is one reason why. For Eagles fans, this game represents a chance to get a much needed win. That is what fans care about. I don’t expect the Kolb drama to be any more than a passing conversation piece. I understand why the game is important to him, but most fans here have little reason to care as much.

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In his first public comments since the Philadelphia Eagles added two new pass defenders — former Cardinals cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie(notes) in a trade for quarterback Kevin Kolb(notes) and former Oakland Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha(notes) in a last-dash free agent push — established Philly cornerback Asante Samuel(notes) did not sound at all happy about the team’s new acquisitions.

“It’s probably 50-50,” he said when asked if he thought the Eagles still wanted him around. “So we’ll see how it goes.”

“If they’re tired of my big-play-making ability, maybe they’ll ship me out,” Samuel told the media after Monday practice. “Maybe they’ll keep me. I don’t know. Who knows?”

On the surface, it would seem that Samuel is overreacting to moves that make the Eagles’ defense better — they also added pass-rusher Jason Babin(notes) and defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins(notes) — but losing his status as the team’s number-one cornerback (Asomugha takes that role automatically by way of his status as the NFL’s best pass defender over the last decade) obviously rubs him the wrong way, and he has a point.

According to Football Outsiders’ advanced metrics, no cornerback bas been better in specific situations than Samuel — he’s ranked first in the NFL in Stop Rate against the pass in each of the last two seasons, and first in Yards per Play allowed in 2010. He also allowed just 1.9 yards after catch, fourth-best in the league. He also led the NFL with nine picks in 2009, and led the NFC with seven in just 11 games last season.

From the perspective of a player with the desire to be the point man at his position on a team, it would make sense that Samuel would be distressed.

“I want to be where I’m wanted,” Samuel continued. “If I’m wanted here, then here. If I’m not appreciated here, then life goes on, and I move on.”

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman says that Samuel hasn’t asked for a trade, and new defensive coordinator Juan Castillo said Monday that there’s a way to use three top cornerbacks in the same defensive system at the same time.

“Everybody’s trying to get three and really four good corners, the way people throw the football,” Castillo said. “We have three starters. We need three starters. That’s a great deal; we’re excited.”

Well, not everybody’s excited.

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From extra special to extra baggage.

Kevin Kolb’s strange career as a Philadelphia Eagle came to its inevitable end Thursday when the heir to Donovan McNabb was shipped out to Arizona for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a 2012 second-round draft pick.

There was never much doubt Kolb would never make it to Lehigh University for training camp — he was too valuable a commodity and the Eagles have too many other holes to fill. It was just a matter of finding the right deal.

“Quite a few teams were interested in the beginning,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “When you want to get a quarterback into camp you want to get him in fast so I knew this would happen quickly.”

There can be little doubt Reid and Philadelphia general manager Howie Roseman made a terrific deal. Getting a Pro Bowl-caliber cornerback and a second-round pick (likely to be an early choice in the round) for a player who wasn’t going to start for the Eagles represents tremendous value.

Kolb probably deserved better. Always classy, always team-oriented and always ready for whatever he was called on to do, Kolb never had much of a chance. Reid and Roseman more or less said so.

“We think the world of Kevin Kolb,” Roseman said. “This trade was a win-win situation for both teams.”

“I can’t tell you I won’t miss Kevin as a person and a player,” said Reid with genuine sincerity. “He deserves the opportunity to start. He’s got a great head coach (Ken Whisenhunt) and a great offensive lineman and one of the best wide receivers there is (Larry Fitzgerald). It’s a good, positive situation for Kevin and I am pulling for him.”

Reid may be pulling for Kolb now but didn’t hesitate to ruthlessly dump him last season. Was that fair? Probably not, and deep down one suspects Reid knows that.

Is dealing Kolb now the best move Andy Reid could make? Yes, as long as Vick doesn’t get hurt.

Having Kolb around came in handy last season when Vick went down. Kolb won two of three games in October during Vick’s recovery from a rib injury. Given that Vick’s style of running and taking hits isn’t likely to change, the Eagles’ backup quarterback almost will surely take key snaps this fall.

Right now, that’s second-year man Mike Kafka, who has never thrown a pass in an NFL regular-season game.

“I think the trade is great for Kevin,” Kafka said Wednesday. “But my focus is on my play and preparing the best way I can for games.”

The Eagles may think the best way for Kafka to prepare is to still carry the clipboard as the No. 3 quarterback.

“We’d never have (traded Kolb) if we didn’t have faith in Kafka,” Reid said. “He could be the backup. Mike has a bright future. But we have to have three guys and we’ll see how things go.”

Translation: we’ll get the first veteran backup we can.

If Reid and Roseman struggle to find a backup for Vick and he goes down, the Eagles will be in a deep, deep hole. While very few NFL teams could lose a starting quarterback and not suffer a drop-off, the Eagles are especially vulnerable because so much of their offense springs from Vick’s improvisations.

Watching Vick, and then Kafka, run the offense is like watching a Kia replace a Ferrari at a Formula One race.

Also, of course, Rodgers-Cromartie had better be good as he fills the hole at right cornerback, but that seems safe. His 13 interceptions in three seasons ranks him fourth among NFL cornerbacks during that period behind the Eagles’ Asante Samuel (22) and Green Bay’s Tramon Williams (18) and Charles Woodson (18).

“He’s an explosive guy, can match up with bigger receivers, can press or play off, and can play all the defenses we want,” Roseman said. “And being here with Asante will help him.”

The knock on Rodgers-Cromartie should sound familiar: he, like Samuel, doesn’t tackle brilliantly. Roseman didn’t necessarily deny that but added, “tackling is a little far down the list of what you’re looking for in a cornerback.” Remember that when Rodgers-Cromartie is trampled by Brandon Jacobs en route to the end zone.

The Kolb deal shores up the Eagles’ secondary and allows other needs to be pursued in free agency. The absolute safe play would have been to keep Kolb to back up Vick.

The Eagles may pay the price for that; they may not. Reid obviously is willing to take the chance they won’t — and that meant the departure of the quarterback he chose, he nurtured and he developed to replace McNabb. But once Kolb became extra baggage, Reid got rid of him.

An unsentimental business, pro football.

Brad Wilson can be reached at 800-360-3601 or bwilson@express-times.com. Talk about sports at lehighvalleylive.com/forums.