Donovan McNabb: Why He's Destined to Have Career Year with the Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback position has always been a revolving door. It looks to have a new doorman this year with ESPN reporting that an agreement for a trade for Washington Redskins’ QB Donovan McNabb is in place.

McNabb will be the 30th starting QB in franchise history and one of the many veteran one or two-year stint QBs the team has had. In fact, only three Vikings have had over 50 starts at QB for Minnesota: Fran Tarkenton (170), Tommy Kramer (110) and Daunte Culpepper (80). McNabb will most certainly not make fifty starts under center for the Vikes with Christian Ponder waiting in the wings, but history shows that McNabb will have a great first year.

In recent Viking history, they have had three veteran QBs step into the starting role, and in their first season as starter with the team, they had a career year.

The 1998 season will be remembered as the year that could have been for Vikings fans when part of the year Randall Cunningham was at QB. Cunningham stepped in and had, statistically, his best year ever, completing 60.9 percent of his passes, throwing a career high 34 touchdowns and put up a remarkable 106 QB rating. These statistics helped lead the Vikings to a 15-1 record and a game away from the Super Bowl—which is a recurring theme with these quarterbacks.

The next year, in 1999, Jeff George was signed as a backup to Randall Cunningham. When Cunningham couldn’t come close to what he produced the year before, George stepped up and set the Viking world on fire.

In 12 games, George completed 58.1 percent of his passes, threw 23 touchdowns and had a career high 94.2 QB rating. George led the Vikings to a 10-6 record and a playoff win, before losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams. Being a team filled with bad luck, this season was a success, but the only Viking season for George.

Now skip through the Daunte Culpepper era and the failed Brad Johnson, Gus Frerotte and Tarvaris Jackson seasons, and you come to the 2009 season and Brett Favre.

Favre, a no-doubt Hall of Famer, had the best year of his 20-year career and probably should have won the MVP award. Favre completed 68.4 percent of his passes, a career high, threw 33 touchdowns, had a career high 107.2 QB rating and most remarkably, a career low seven interceptions. Brett led the team to a 12-4 record, a first-round bye, a divisional round 34-3 killing of the Dallas Cowboys and within a play of the Super Bowl.

These were all great first years for these veteran quarterbacks, but the second years went way down hill for all three.

Randall Cunningham didn’t even finish the 1999 season as a starter, and his benching led to the great season Jeff George had. George only stuck around one year before leaving, when Daunte Culpepper took over the reins. We all, of course, remember Favre’s season last year, throwing 19 picks after only throwing seven the year before, a career worst 69.9 QB rating and most importantly, his ironman streak came to an end at 321 (including playoffs).

What does this all mean for Donovan McNabb?

It means that if history means anything at all, McNabb is set for a career year. It’ll be hard to beat his year in 2004 with the Philadelphia Eagles (64 percent pass completion, 31 touchdowns, 104.7 QB rating and a trip to the Super Bowl), but it won’t be hard to surpass last year with the Redskins (only 13 games, 15 picks, 7 fumbles and a 77.1 QB rating).

Donovan better enjoy this one year though, because in Vikings history, veteran QB success only lasts one year. Christian Ponder will be ready to trade in this clipboard for the starting position very soon.