The Philadelphia Eagles have traded quarterback Donovan McNabb to the Washington Redskins for the 37th overall pick in this year's draft and a 3rd/4th round pick in 2011 depending on performance.
We will never know what other offers the Eagles entertained for Donovan McNabb but trading him within the division makes you wonder whether any other teams had competitive offers. One thing is for sure, Dan Snyder, Bruce Allen and Mike Shanahan should all be arrested for stealing a pro bowl quarterback from a division rival while at the same time filling their biggest team need. It is almost a lock now that the Redskins will draft an offensive tackle with the fourth overall pick in the draft to replace the retired Chris Samuels. Russell Okung will be in Washington unless Detroit takes him at #2 in which case the Skins will likely decide between Trent Williams and Bryan Bulaga. Either way the Redskins have put themselves in a position to compete right away in the tough NFC East.
The ramifications of this deal for the Philadelphia Eagles could be catastrophic. Kevin Kolb clearly has the confidence of everyone in the organization and did play very well last season in his two starts. But that’s all we have to go on. Two starts. He also has very high expectations to live up to considering this is a team that has gone to the NFC Championship five times in McNabb’s eleven year career. That combined with a very volatile fan base puts an enormous amount of pressure on Kolb to perform well right away.
I watched Andy Reid’s press conference last night and he mentioned numerous times that they took Donovan’s wishes into account and tried to make a deal that was right for them and McNabb. Reid also alluded to the fact that there were other offers on the table but reading between the lines it seemed clear that these were from teams McNabb was not very interested in. While I respect Reid and the Eagles organization for trying to do right by a player who has clearly earned it, I think the Eagles made a big mistake trading him within the division. This gives McNabb the opportunity to play his former team twice a year and you can imagine how badly he’ll want to put a whooping on the Eagles. If McNabb plays well and the Redskins finish ahead of the Eagles, the Philly fans will be calling for blood. The NFL is a business and personal feelings should’ve been put aside here by the Eagles and Reid. Trading him to the Raiders, Rams, Bills etc. would’ve likely yielded similar compensation and ensured they would rarely have to face McNabb. The fact that they took his wishes into account is admirable but in a cutthroat league, the Eagles may have lit the powder keg that is the Philly fan base. Only time will tell.
-Jansen-
Feel free to post any thoughts on the trade here.
ReplyDeleteI heard that the only other teams interested was Buffalo and Oakland, and McNabb requested not to be traded to those teams, leaving only the Redskins. But I agree with your sentiments that McNabb will come back to haunt them.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, it is Kevin Kolb's time. After throwing for 400 yards vs the Super Bowl Champions in his first career start, and following that up with a 330 yard 2 TD performance in a romping of Kansas City, Kolb proved he can play at an elite level. He made that offense fun to watch those two weeks, and got everyone involved. Brent Celek was the happiest TE in the league as he had back-to-back 8 catch, 100 yard games in those two weeks.
Kolb came from a pass happy gun-slinging offense in college to another in the pros. He will benefit from taking all the 1st team reps this off-season, and will be a force to be reckoned with come September. That's is why Kolb commanded more from teams than McNabb did if he were to be traded. People in the Philly organization believe hes going to be special - I humbly agree.