The question everyone is asking… whos starting?

AFEW MONTHS ago, if you’d walked up to Donovan McNabb and told him, “Hey, the Eagles are going to sign Michael Vick and Jeff Garcia,” McNabb might have chuckled.

He wouldn’t do that now, though. For one thing, chuckling would hurt McNabb’s fractured rib. And for another, nothing would be funny.

“Adding Jeff Garcia to the roster is a great idea,” McNabb wrote last night on his yardbarker.com blog. “He knows our offense and how we do things around here. He’s a great teammate and I look forward to working with him again.”

The Eagles announced yesterday that they have agreed to terms on a 1-year deal with Garcia, 39, who parted ways with the Raiders just before the season. Garcia is scheduled to practice tomorrow and to back up Kevin Kolb on Sunday, when Kolb is expected to make his starting debut at Lincoln Financial Field against the New Orleans Saints. Officially, it’s still possible McNabb might play, but the team would not have signed Garcia if that were likely.

Garcia is to sign today and someone will be cut to clear a roster spot. ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio reported last night that the Eagles are trying to trade Hank Baskett, one of their seven wideouts. Baskett is playing on a 1-year restricted free-agent tender.

“I am excited to come back to the organization, not excited to come back due to Donovan’s injury,” Garcia said in a conference call with reporters. “But I am looking forward to contributing any way I can, whether it’s for a week or 2 weeks or the entire season.”

A source close to Garcia said the QB’s comfort level with the Eagles’ system and coaching staff made this an attractive opportunity, even if it is just for the short term. Of course, if Garcia gets on the field and does well, he could play himself into the Eagles’ crowded quarterback picture somehow, or, more likely, become more attractive to another team that might need a quarterback.

The Birds had been expected to bring back A.J. Feeley, and they apparently tried to do so, but Feeley flew to Charlotte yesterday evening and said he will sign with the Panthers today. Carolina backup quarterback Josh McCown suffered a foot injury in the Eagles’ 38-10 season-opening win and is being placed on injured reserve, ending his season.

So Feeley, released in the Eagles’ final roster cutdown, is going to a team that has a long-term opening, where the starter, Jake Delhomme, looks pretty shaky. That’s not a scenario the Eagles could match.

“Hard to say goodbye, but, yeah, it was a better opportunity,” Feeley told the Daily News in a text message.

Garcia is the other notable former Eagles quarterback who was on the market.

“I guess when I saw Donovan go down yesterday, the thought crossed my mind that it might be a possibility,” Garcia said. “It’s funny, I was on my way to Los Angeles to do pregame stuff for ‘Monday Night Football’ when my agent told me the Eagles were interested in signing me. I had my driver turn me around.”

Eagles coach Andy Reid confirmed the move on his radio show on WIP (610-AM).

“Jeff’s going to come on board with us for ‘who knows how long?’ here,” Reid said. “We’re lucky that Jeff was available. Someone who knows the offense, has been very, very successful in the offense, and can come in and also be a positive influence for Kevin Kolb and everyone else in the locker room.

“It’s a unique situation because Michael [Vick] is suspended for a week and Donovan’s banged up. So we don’t know how long Donovan’s going to be out and at the same time we need a second quarterback in there if needed this weekend.”

Reid said before the Garcia acquisition became public that Kolb would start this weekend, if McNabb cannot.

“I’m OK with whatever helps the team win,” said Garcia, who backed up McNabb in 2006 and led the team on an unlikely charge to a playoff berth after McNabb tore his ACL. Garcia won five of six starts, then a playoff game against the Giants. “Kevin is a guy that has been with the team going into his third year, this is a great opportunity for him. It’s just a matter of me coming in and trying to help out wherever I can help out.”

That ’06 season ended with a playoff loss to the Saints, and Garcia moved on to Tampa, where he could start.

Although McNabb was publicly supportive of Garcia, there was intrigue over how he really felt about the other QB, who has a long, deep connection with offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. Garcia became wildly popular with fans; McNabb’s mother, Wilma, described the team’s success under Garcia’s leadership as “bittersweet” because of the possible fan reaction against her son.

Asked about McNabb last night, Garcia called him “the guy that everybody looks up to and looks toward for mental toughness, just the positive things you expect from a leadership standpoint.”

“Look, I’m not trying to step in for anybody, moreso blend in,” he added.

Garcia said his contract is “a day-to-day situation.”