For the first time in a decade, Donovan McNabb won’t be the Philadelphia Eagles starting quarterback to start the regular season. The team traded their franchise quarterback to division rival Washington Redskins for a 2010 second round pick and either a third or fourth round pick in the 2011 draft. The move comes after weeks of speculation that the Eagles were ready to part ways with McNabb and turn the reigns over to young backup quarterback Kevin Kolb.
Many expected that Philadelphia would possibly be seeking to trade McNabb after two disappointing losses at the end of the year to the hated Dallas Cowboys. However at the National Football League coaches breakfast, Eagles coach Andy Reid made it public that they were shopping all three of their quarterbacks (McNabb, Kolb, Vick.)
After that public statement, anyone and everyone speculated what the Eagles were going to do with their quarterback situation. As time went on, it became apparent that the Eagles were interested in keeping their younger QB Kevin Kolb and more interested in trading the 11-year veteran McNabb. Rumors had Mcnabb going to the Rams, Raiders, Bills and numerous other teams, but no mention of the Washington Redskins.
Then, on Easter Sunday the Eagles made the shocking decision to trade McNabb to the Redskins. The move comes as a shock because both teams play in the same division and play each other twice a year. Many fans are puzzled as to why the Eagles would trade their aging, but still good quarterback to a team that they play every year.
The Redskins went 4-12 last year and haven’t had a stable presence at the quarterback position since the early 90’s.
Any NFL fan around the league was aware of the fact that McNabb and the Philadelphia fan base had a love-hate relationship. Some fans loved McNabb, some have always hated him and others liked him, but felt it was time for a change.
Say what you want about him, but you can’t ignore the fact that this quarterback is the best ever in Eagles franchise history. In his 11 years in Phlly, he led the Eagles to eight playoff appearances, five National Football Conference Championship games and one Superbowl. McNabb also leaves as the teams all-time leader in pass attempts, completions, passing yards and touchdowns.
Many NFL fans have ripped the Eagles for trading their franchise quarterback to a rival in their own division. Before the trade the Redskins didn’t look to be much of a threat and probably would of ended up in the cellar of the NFC East. However, with McNabb, Reskins fans are thinking playoffs. Coach Mike Shanahan took over at the helm for the Redskins earlier in the offseason. Shanahan is a two-time Superbowl champion with the Denver Broncos. When Shanahan coached in Denver he inherited a similar quarterback to McNabb in the form of John Elway. Before Shanahan, Elway was coached by Dan Reeves for 10 seasons and reached numerous American Football Conference Championship games and Superbowls, but coming up short with no rings. Once Elway was teamed up with Coach Shanahan, they went on to win back-to-back Superbowls. Now, Shanahan is entering Washington with another quarterback in McNabb who has been to the big games but hasn’t won the big one yet. Redskins fans are hoping that Shanahan can duplicate his success with another aging quarterback star.
As for the Eagles, they will now look to 25-year old Kevin Kolb to lead the franchise. Kolb started two games this year in McNabb’s absence against the Saints and Chiefs. In those games the Eagles went 1-1, but Kolb played well and was the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for more than 300 yards in his first two starts. Kolb will lead an offense in which the average age is 24.
The hope is that he will grow and develop with other young offensive stars such as Desean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Brent Celek and Lesean McCoy. Also, the Eagles have stockpiled draft picks in this years upcoming NFL Draft due to the McNabb and Sheldon Brown-Chris Gocong trades. This year’s draft is considered one of the deepest drafts in years, and the Eagles will probably look to draft defensive players in the early rounds to help rebuild their defense.
