Retirement decisions and McNabb
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Retirement decisions and McNabb
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Generally speaking, I can't stand stories about retirement decisions.
Like many of you, I never click on those headlines and wait until late August to find out who is actually calling it quits.
But this offseason, the retirement stories will carry a little more weight to this crowd.
Specifically, we're talking about Kurt Warner and Brett Favre.
Why? Because as we beat this Donovan McNabb/Kevin Kolb thing to death, the question that always arises is: Which teams could be interested in McNabb if the Eagles decide to shop him?
And invariably, the Cardinals and Vikings are mentioned as possible destinations.
Now, if those teams are interested in McNabb, will they press Warner and Favre for decisions earlier than usual? If Favre and Warner drag their decisions on, should we take it as a sign that those franchises have no interest in McNabb? Or maybe that the Eagles aren't shopping him?
Some things to keep an eye on, along with a couple other dates:
One is April 22. That's the NFL draft.
The other is May 5. That's when the Eagles owe McNabb a $6.2M roster bonus, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
As for the other quarterbacks, ESPN.com's Rick Reilly came away from an interview with Warner convinced that he's going to call it quits.
"It means I pray that God takes away the desire in me to play this game," Warner told Reilly. "I've loved it for so long. I need Him to take that away from me, so that I can be comfortable with this decision."
Favre told ESPN's Ed Werder that he's "highly unlikely" to play again. Obviously, that means nothing. He just turned in one of the best performances of his career. I think Favre will get the itch to give it another go.
Anyway, we'll keep an eye on the retirement stories as the offseason continues and, when appropriate, try to project how they could affect the Eagles.
So you can go ahead and continue to ignore those headlines elsewhere.
SI.com's Peter King mentioned McNabb and Kolb in his Monday Morninq Quarterback column:
Lot of buzz about whether the Eagles will go with Kevin Kolb or Donovan McNabb as the QB of the future. Only one man knows for sure. The Big Man. Andy Reid. He says McNabb, but why do I think that's a tepid endorsement?
It's interesting to note that King is one of the only (maybe the only) national writer who seems to support the notion of the Eagles dealing McNabb and going with Kolb.
Yesterday we posted 10 observations on each of the championship games:
The Eagles wont extend McNabb, vet players that WANT an extension dont play on the last year of their contract, especially when they are injury prone and might well cost themselves millions while playing for a team that has made it clear that they dont want you past your last year....if they dont trade McNabb he will hold out because playing on his last year is just plain stupid for a vet player like McNabb. sorry if it hurts you but you have seen your last snap by #5 for the Eagles— IcanTakeit- Does anyone believe that if Reid was given a Fleet Enema it would clear his head. Then maybe he could make the right personnel decisions this off season. Who goes, who stays, who signs as FA's and who he drafts. Their order of draft is this: 1st #24, 2nd #55, 3rd # 70 and 87, 4th #119 and 125, no 5th rounder, 6th #192 and no 7th rounder. Plus additional compensatory picks for losing Dawk, Buck and Tra. 4 of the top 87 picks. How will he go? LB, S, CB, DE, RB and QB if McSmall and Vic are gone. I can't believe he'll be stupid enough to let both McSmall and Vic unless he has a plan to bring in another veteran QB to back up Kolb. Too much of a risk to let both go without protection behind Kolb.— The Marco Islander
- Bunch of football geniuses. If McNabb is traded he will go to whoever offers the best deal, regardless if it's in the NFC or AFC. The only place he won't be traded is within the NFC East.— srf466
- I think this talk about trading Donovan is crazy talk. However, for those of you that want him to go, answer this question - Would you be satisfied if the Eagles went 6-10 for two seasons? Could you stand to see Donovan on the podium accepting the Superbowl trophy wearing another teams colors? If you can answer those two questions honestly, then you can worry about whether Donovan should go.— angrybear
- angrybear, do you remember how much the fans hated Cunningham? but oh god if they didn't love him when he was throwing TD's to Carter and Moss that season for the Vikes, while we had who? Bubby Brister? Bobby Hoying? Rodney Peete? I don't remember who we had but that's just an example of how damn hard it is to draft or even find a good QB in the NFL. I hope Kolb is the real deal, otherwise everyone will be screaming about why we let McNabb go.— srf466
- Here's an interesting link for all you people who call McNabb a choker. Pay particular attention to the playoff games Favre has lost and his performance in those games. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1001/brett.favre.worst.moments/content.1.html— srf466
- Oh please. No matter where McNabb goes, he's not going to win a championship. Pressure him and you can be assured of worm killers and airplane missiles. His poor decision making, holding the ball forever unless a receiver has a ten yard space between he and the CB, his inability to run will all contribute to his failure. I wouldn't worry, Kolb will alleviate any concern you have about the Eagles I assure you. You worriers haven't been paying attention.— essell
- Folks, don't be surprised to see McNabb in Cleveland with Heckert. This keeps McNabb out of the NFC and Cleveland needs a QB.— Jazz607
- maybe peter king can coach? he's fat and thinks highly of himself. never read a writer who uses so many 'I's.— JACK V
- cracks me up when poster say mcwaddle won't be traded to an nfc team. "the eagles would be afraid of meeting mcwaddle in a playoff game" really, afraid he'd choke again.— JACK V
- If the Eagles get a 1st round pick for McNabb, it will be a miracle (unless they trade trade theirs along with him). And the team probably won't trade him for anything less because they think he has more value than every other team does. The funny thing is, this is all OK with them, because they don't want to have to pay the contract that a high 1st round pick comes with. They'd rather get 5 or 6 5th round picks and gamble that they find another Trent Cole so they can show everyone how smart they are. This is all a big circus created by the media. Bottom line, McNabb's not going anywhere.— 86er
The Eagles would be should be glad to trade McNabb to any team. The problem is that all of the teams and their fans are on to McNabb. Outside of Philly, McNabb is seen for what he is, and it isn't much. Go ask any fan from Minny, Arizona, Cleveland and Buffalo to see if they want McNabb. Some even get very angry at that thought. Maybe the Eagles can get some of those SB footballs with the Vikings-Colts logos for him.- I dont care where McNabb goes, as long as he goes!— oldhat
Not one QB wiff? Not even one who got sacked 12 times in one game? Idiot.— tpizza- Oh please. You people are such haters that it makes you even more stupid than you already are (which is hard to believe is possible). Yeah people in Cleveland would rather have Derek Anderson and that loser from Notre Dame than McNabb. People in Minnesota would rather have Tavaris Jackson than McNabb. People in Buffalo would rather have Trent Edwards. People in Carolina would like to keep Delhomme. People in St. Louis would rather have Bulger for the 3 games a year he's actually healthy enough to play. People in Oakland are in love JaMarcus Russell. You haters are so freakin' stupid. Do you even pay attention to the ridiculous things that come out of your mouth? If McNabb goes on the trading block there will be at least a dozen teams that would love to have him. The issue is if they are willing to pay what the Eagles want.— srf466
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