Donovan McNabb's Future is Uncertain

McNabb Fails Again

Donovan McNabb failed for the third time in his career as he was released by the Minnesota Vikings. This story is personal for me as I have a relationship with every team he has played for, and I can feel the pain.

McNabb in Philadelphia

As a citizen of Pennsylvania, I lived through the eleven years of frustration with the Philadelphia Eagles. McNabb may be the best quarterback in Eagles history. He seemed to set just about every record, made big plays in big games, consistently won the National Football League East, and won more than his share of playoff games. He did everything the citizens of Pennsylvania could ask of him, and he even played hurt and in pain. He gave us everything we asked for except the one thing we really craved, the one thing that would have made his long career worthwhile. He never won the Super Bowl and brought a World Championship to Pennsylvania. That Super Bowl victory meant the world to the fans in Pennsylvania. One year the fans in Northeastern Pennsylvania were so excited about the Eagles that the local newspaper in Wilkes-Barre published a team picture of the Eagles so we could all frame it as a memento of the Eagles victory in the Super Bowl. Of course the Eagles lost in the playoffs. If we had that Super Bowl Trophy we would still be celebrating his career, instead we view his career as a long period of anger and frustration.

McNabb in Washington

McNabb was traded from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Washington Redskins. I lived in Washington D.C. and the Redskins are in my blood and I will be their fan for the rest of my life. He was united with Head Coach Mike Shanahan and was given a second chance to win a Super Bowl. Shanahan led the Denver Broncos to two Super Bowl victories, at the end of John Elway's career. He could have repeated the scenario in Washington with McNabb. Instead of going along with the program, McNabb could not get along with his coaches and was a miserable failure. He was benched and eventually traded to Minnesota.

McNabb in Minnesota

The Minnesota Vikings are not a team that I routinely follow or root for. That all changed recently when my nephew married a young lady from Minnesota. Now the Vikings are part of the family. The Vikings head coach, Leslie Frazier, knows McNabb from their days together in Philadelphia. Frazier hand picked McNabb to be a bridge between veteran quarterback Brett Farve and rookie quarterback Christian Ponder.

Frazier was convinced McNabb's failure in Washington was a fluke, and McNabb could help the Vikings avoid a long and torturous rebuilding program. McNabb was given the starting job.

McNabb struggled and could not get the Vikings offense moving. People began to wonder if his best days were behind him even though pass protection from the offensive line was less than average and he did not have the best receivers in the game. In six games he completed 60 percent of his passes for 1,026 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Most of his completions were for short yardage as he only completed five passes of 25 yards or more. He was benched in the fourth quarter of a blowout loss to the Chicago Bears that left the Vikings with a miserable start of 1-5.

McNabb as a Free Agent

The future for this accomplished quarterback is very much in doubt. He has a lot of great statistics but he never won the Super Bowl, and he desperately needs another chance to be a World Champion. McNabb's agent, Fletcher Smith, said that McNabb still believes he can play at a high level. Vikings coach Leslie Frazer is not so sure. Frazier believes McNabb still has a future in the NFL but he is not certain he could ever be a starting quarterback again.

Fletcher Smith said that at this stage of is career the most important thing is winning a Super Bowl. That was his most important objective throughout his career, and that will be his objective with his next team.

Source: Dave Campbell of the Associated Press, Vikings, McNabb part ways, The Citizens Voice, December 2, 2011.

Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press, Veteran QB McNabb becomes a free agent, The Citizens Voice, December 3, 2011.