We first mentioned the possibility of Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback Donovan McNabb becoming a member of the Minnesota Vikings back in January and now the rumor is flying around again.
The Eagles have reportedly been discussing potential McNabb trade scenarios because they have a wealth of signal callers. In addition to McNabb, the Eagles have Kevin Kolb, a former second-round draft pick, and Michael Vick.
The Oakland Raiders, who’ve been trying to turn JaMarcus Russell into something other than a lump of shit with arms and legs, are said to be in heaviest pursuit of McNabb. Other teams mentioned are the Buffalo Bills, St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. The Bills and Rams each have a group of lackluster players at the position and the Cardinals are in a state of flux after Kurt Warner’s retirement, although they do have former first-round pick Matt Leinart and former Cleveland Browns’ starter Derek Anderson.
So where do the Vikings factor into all of this? Well, in the wild speculation department, of course.
The Vikings are waiting on Lord Brett Favre, who is playing his usual offseason game of “I don’t know if I’ll be back next season.” Most people think it’s more than likely Favre will return in 2010, but there are no guarantees and Favre isn’t going to make a decision anytime soon.
So, here you have McNabb, who is 33 and available. McNabb played for Vikings’ coach Brad Childress when Childress was offensive coordinator in Philadelphia. Like Favre, McNabb knows Childress’ system and terminology, so the transition from Philadelphia to Minnesota would be seamless.
McNabb has also stated his preferred destination, if he were to be traded, would be the Minnesota Vikings. According to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, there are some in the Vikings’ organization who like the idea.
There are some members of the Vikings organization who consider McNabb a natural successor to Favre, especially on a veteran team ready to challenge for the Super Bowl. So the Vikings have a decision to make, if they haven’t already made it: Do they sit tight and assume Favre will return? Or do they eliminate the risk by trading for McNabb, in the process solidifying the position for more than one year?
There are some obstacles to any potential McNabb deal, though.
The Eagles want a top-42 pick for McNabb. While teams like Oakland and Buffalo have two picks within that range, the Vikings only have one – their first-round pick (No. 30). The Vikings may deem that too high of a price to pay for McNabb.
The second obstacle is McNabb’s contract. He has one year left on his current deal and any team trading for him would want to extend that. That’s unlikely to be tough, but it’s still something that needs to be addressed.
The major obstacle for the Vikings, however, is Favre.
Favre can obviously still play, but his constant nonsense during the summer has the Vikings in a tough spot. If they knew he was going to retire, they’d probably go out and get McNabb.
As it stands, they’re walking a fine line between looking at the future and the present, while Favre is once again putting himself before the organization.
The Green Bay Packers have to be happy they don’t have to deal with that anymore.
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That would be very amusing to watch if the Vikings aquired McNabb and then Favre decided to come back.
I don’t know where the media got this idea claiming the Packer fans didn’t think Favre could play. We all know he can still play, what the Packer fans were sick of his changing his mind all the time, and all the interceptions, especially the game ending interceptions in playoff games… he has a well proven history of it.
What, are the Queens trying to collect every Qb with a history of repeatedly blowing it hard on the big stage?
I also hear that if McNabb or Favre don’t pan out. The Vikings will try and lure Jim Kelly out of his fourteen year retirement. Fans have reportedly already worked on erecting a billboard in East Aurora, New York begging for Kelly’s return to football.