Kevin Kolb: Predicting Career Stats for Each Team Making a Play for Him

Kevin Kolb is at the top of the trade wish list for several franchises in the NFL this offseason. 

He’s put up some pretty impressive numbers when given the opportunity in Philadelphia, but what will he do when he gets on his next team? 

There are plenty of variables that factor into what type of statistics Kolb is likely to accumulate in his new city. What is the skill level of his receiving corps? How good is his offensive line? Can it keep him healthy and on the field?

As well, things like how good his new squad’s defense is will come into play. If they’re too good, then once he puts a couple of touchdowns on the board he’ll just spend the rest of the game handing the ball off. If he wants to have top-level stats, he needs to be on a team that’s going to be in a lot of shootouts.

There’s no lack of factors that will go into his statistical performance in 2011 and beyond, and nothing predicts future performance like past performance. 

Let’s take a look at what his career numbers will look like on each of the teams interested in trading for him this summer.

San Francisco 49ers

Career Numbers: 5,200 passing yards, 36 touchdowns, 22 interceptions 

The 49ers would be an interesting spot for Kolb to land.

On the surface they have many of the things a team needs to make its quarterback successful.

Their offensive line has a few good young players, and more could be added through the draft. They have a franchise-level, big-play receiver in Michael Crabtree. To tie it all together, they have a talented young coach making his NFL debut.

It all sounds good, but the risk factor here is enormous. Crabtree has been a controversy machine since even before he was drafted, and the track record for coaches making the leap from the college ranks to the pros isn’t very good.

Too many things would have to go right for Kolb to have a good career in San Francisco.

Cleveland Browns

Career Numbers: 8,750 passing yards, 61 touchdowns, 48 interceptions 

The Browns aren’t the ideal landing spot for Kolb.

They don’t have elite receivers, and their offense is built around a strong running game and a quarterback who takes care of the ball—not a recipe for big-time passing numbers.

Cleveland has built its team around the defensive side of the ball. This keeps with its historical team identity and can be a successful way to win games in the NFL, but that doesn’t do much for its quarterback’s statistics.

Kolb would have some promising games in a Browns uniform but eventually just wouldn’t be in the type of system and wouldn’t have the caliber of wide receiver to put up big numbers.

Washington Redskins

Career Numbers: 13,700 passing yards, 110 touchdowns, 74 interceptions

The Redskins are one of the more dysfunctional franchises in the NFL.

They've lacked consistency throughout the Dan Snyder era, and there are no signs that things will settle down anytime soon.

If Kolb goes to Washington, he’s likely to have multiple head coaches and offensive coordinators during his time there. This kind of constant change always leads to a quarterback who is thinking too much on the field when he should be just acting on instinct and training.

One thing Snyder will do is spend money trying to fix the problem. He’ll go out and get Kolb weapons to throw to, most likely at the expense of putting a defense on the field that will win the team games.

This high-powered offense will put up good numbers from time to time but won’t perform at a high level consistently enough to maximize Kolb’s talents.

He’ll get some numbers in Washington, but those statistics won’t add up to the win totals they would on other teams.

Seattle Seahawks

Career Numbers: 14,300 passing yards, 130 touchdowns, 63 interceptions

The Seattle Seahawks will be a good place for Kolb to accumulate his career statistics because they’ll provide him consistency.

The fanbase in Seattle is loyal, and the ownership group is too. If they land Kolb, they will rally around him and weather any periods of bad play that he might go through.

If he stays healthy, he’ll put up his numbers steadily. The offensive line has the potential to keep him on the field on a regular basis. Left tackle Russell Okung is young with the skill set to be a quality blind-side protector for the next decade.

Kolb won’t have any standout seasons, but Seattle will give him the kind of opportunity to have a solid and, more importantly, long career.

Miami Dolphins

Career Numbers: 22,500 passing yards, 195 touchdowns, 72 interceptions

The sleeper of the group, Miami has many of the right pieces in place for a good quarterback to thrive.

The Dolphins have a great young left tackle, Jake Long, to protect Kolb’s blind side. They have good young wide receivers, a big-play specialist in Brandon Marshall and a speedy slot guy in Davone Bess. Not to mention they have eight home games a year where they play in a warm climate.

Tony Sparano has shown the ability to adjust his game plan based on the skill sets of his players. He ran the wildcat successfully because that was the best way for his players to put points on the board. If you give him a quarterback like Kolb, he’ll spread the field, open up the playbook and throw the ball.

Arizona Cardinals

Career Numbers: 28,800 yards, 225 touchdowns, 97 interceptions

Jackpot!

The Arizona Cardinals have the perfect mix of variables to allow Kolb the opportunity to accumulate some truly impressive statistics.

They have good, young offensive linemen that will be able to keep him healthy and the kind of defense that will force the Cardinals to be aggressive on offense in order for them to win games. Arizona gave up the third-most points per game in the NFL in 2010, so Kolb will have all the opportunities he needs to score points.

The Cardinals also have the type of good, young receivers that will make plays down the field. Most notably, if the team lands Kolb, it is likely to be able to keep the services of All-World wideout Larry Fitzgerald.

The two of them would make one scary combination for NFL defenses for years to come.