Donovan McNabb: What Does Cleveland Browns GM Tom Heckert Know?

Go back in time to Jan. 11, 2010. That was the day Tom Heckert was named general manager of the Cleveland Browns under team president Mike Holmgren.

The Eagles lost the Wild Card game to the Dallas Cowboys on Jan. 9, meaning there only was about 48 hours between the Eagles last game and Heckert departing the Eagles facility for the last time.

While there probably wasn’t a lot of talk about how the Eagles were going to proceed in the offseason in that time, it’s a safe bet to say getting rid of Donovan McNabb was mentioned at least once before Heckert turned in his keys and ID badge.

Even after Heckert left, it would be naïve to think Heckert didn’t get wind of a few things in the intervening weeks, and it’s also pretty safe to say McNabb’s phone number probably still is in Heckert’s iPhone.

When discussing the quarterback situation in Cleveland, if McNabb’s name didn’t come up at least once for discussion, then Heckert wasn’t doing his job.

So why wasn’t there one good story about the Browns showing interest in McNabb in almost three months?

There were speculation stories, there were theory stories, but there never was one sourced story about Heckert or Holmgren trying to work a deal with Philadelphia that I was able to find.

Now McNabb goes to the Redskins for their second-round pick and a conditional pick next year, basically the equivalent of a song and a dance for a quarterback of McNabb’s caliber.

Again, why didn’t the Browns try and get in on this action?

Could it be that Heckert knows something only the Eagles front office knows? Have the Redskins been swindled?

McNabb is 33 years old, but assuming his arm is healthy and it stays that way, he should have three or four good years left, maybe more if he has Brett Favre-type staying power.

Despite this, the Browns went for the older and shakier Jake Delhomme, paying him $7 million, in fact. Wouldn’t McNabb have been a much better investment?

While McNabb has had leg injuries, a broken ankle, a torn ACL, and a broken rib, he’s avoided injuries to his throwing arm, meaning the stats he put up in Philadelphia aren’t out of the question for Washington.

If the Browns, and Heckert, showed no interest in McNabb, does that mean McNabb told Heckert he wouldn’t come to Cleveland?

Or does it mean Heckert knows something the rest of us will find out later?

Time will tell.