National Football League

Eagles clear spot for Tebow, trading Barkley to Cardinals

Published Sep. 4, 2015 5:17 p.m. ET

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) Tim Tebow made Matt Barkley expendable.

The Philadelphia Eagles traded Barkley to the Arizona Cardinals on Friday, clearing a roster spot for Tebow after he won a preseason competition for the No. 3 quarterback job.

Arizona sent a conditional seventh-round draft pick to Philadelphia for Barkley. A person familiar with the deal said Barkley has to be on the roster for six games for the Eagles to receive the pick in 2016. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because that part of the trade wasn't announced.

Barkley provides depth behind Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton. Logan Thomas and rookie Phillip Sims were competing for the No. 3 job. Sims already tweeted that he was released.

The Cardinals were 6-0 with Palmer as their starter last year and 5-6 without him, including a playoff loss to Carolina. Stanton was 5-3 and Ryan Lindley was 0-3. Palmer missed three games in September and the final seven games after tearing his left ACL in mid-November.

Tebow outplayed Barkley in the preseason and will play behind Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez unless coach Chip Kelly makes a surprise move this weekend.

Tebow was 11 for 17 for 189 yards, two touchdowns and one interception against the New York Jets on Thursday night. Barkley was 4 for 9 for 45 yards and one interception.

Tebow last played in a regular-season game with the Jets in 2012. He was cut by New England in training camp in 2013. He worked as a college football analyst on the SEC Network last year, but got another chance to play in the NFL when the Eagles signed him in the offseason.

The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner led Florida to the national championship his junior season and was a first-round pick by Denver in 2010. He started 16 games during two seasons with the Broncos, including a playoff victory over Pittsburgh in January 2012. Tebow was traded to the Jets after Denver signed Peyton Manning.

''It's a blessing to be able to play the game that I love,'' Tebow said after the final preseason game. ''Sometimes when things are taken away, you realize how much you really love it, and sometimes you love it more after that. So it's not necessarily coming back, but the time away that makes you love it more.''

Barkley was a fourth-round pick in 2013. He completed 30 of 50 passes for 300 yards and four interceptions in four games.

Barkley is the career leading passer in Pac-12 Conference and Southern California history. He had 12,327 passing yards and 116 touchdowns for the Trojans.

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AP Sports Writer Bob Baum in Tempe, Arizona, contributed to this report.

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