Donovan McNabb Injury Update - Philly adds Garcia for Insurance

Despite Donovan McNabb being optimistic about the Eagles' game this Sunday against New Orleans, it didn’t stop them from reaching out and acquiring an old friend. The Eagles have reached an agreement with Jeff Garcia, the 10-year veteran whoo played for Philadelphia in 2006 and went 5-1 in six starts in relief of an injured McNabb.

McNabb suffered the injury on a questionable hit he took third quarter after scampering in for a 3-yard touchdown score. He spun away from a defender at the goal line, but was nailed by Panthers nose tackle Damione Lewis on the ground in the end zone.

McNabb is no stranger to playing with pain; he once played four quarters on a broken ankle and doesn't feel like the rib will keep him out. Being tough is one thing, but playing at less than 100 percent may just be detrimental to the team and incase McNabb isn’t able to go, the Eagles will need some insurance for Kevin Kolb.

Andy Reid commented on the situation on Monday saying, "He's going to try and battle through it. He'll struggle to practice. He's going to do everything he possibly can to try to play. We'll see how that goes. He's staying optimistic about that."

McNabb may be the most optimistic about the whole situation, "Anything can happen. It's just Monday right now, but if Friday and Saturday come along and I'm feeling a lot better, you just never know," he said. "It's a slow process of just meeting with our trainers, doing two-a-days with treatment, going through the process of just like I'm playing in the game, and seeing how I feel at the end [of the week]."

If McNabb can't play, third-year pro Kevin Kolb, who filled in for McNabb during Philadelphia's 38-10 victory over Carolina in the season opener, would start against the Saints.

I know some of you are wondering about Michael Vick, but he is not eligible to play until week 3 because of the suspension. Even if Vick was eligible, he probably wouldn't start as Reid has maintained all along that Kolb is the backup.

The Eagles are going to need some of that defensive magic they had in week one against the Saints. But if they find themselves in a shootout against Drew Brees and the rest of New Orleans' high-octane offense, they might be in trouble.

Kolb hasn’t had much work with the first string offense but there is no doubt that he’ll be taking snaps with them this week.

"I have full confidence in him," Reid said of Kolb. "I don't worry about his accuracy or knowledge of the offense right now. It's just a matter of getting caught up with the game speed of the regular season."

Garcia played the last two seasons for the Buccaneers and was recently released by the Oakland Raiders. He has made four Pro Bowls, most recently in 2007 with Tampa Bay. He will be the backup to Kolb if McNabb can’t go, and third in the depth chart if Donovan starts.