Eagles Logic: Quest For First Title, Trade Team's Most Valuable Player

Countless trade rumors have emerged this past week involving Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb to the Oakland Raiders.

This whole situation is very wrong for two reasons.

The first ignored value is the Eagles taking trade offers for their franchise quarterback.  Only about half of the teams in the league have a legit franchise quarterback with absolutely no question marks at the position.

Donovan McNabb has the third highest winning percentage of all active quarterbacks, only behind future Hall of Famers Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. 

McNabb has guided the Eagles to five NFC Championship appearances and a Super Bowl berth.

He is the least intercepted quarterback per pass attempt of all time, and has the second best touchdown-to-interception ratio of all time.

Donovan McNabb isn't just another quarterback. He isn't a player the Eagles could blindly throw away for a second round pick and not take a step back as a franchise.

The second dishonorable detail deals with the team who would receive McNabb—the Oakland Raiders.

Donovan McNabb has been the face of the Philadelphia Eagles for the past decade. He is the Eagles all-time leader in passing yards, touchdowns, and completions. 

For the Eagles to force McNabb to join one of the worst run franchises in professional sports takes disrespect to a whole new level.

Just this offseason, the San Diego Chargers released LaDainian Tomlinson. The Chargers didn't trade him to the Browns or Lions to just rot away for the few years he has left in this league; they let him choose his own path. 

It's the least a franchise could do to give back to an idolized player.

Thirty-three year old McNabb has never won a Super Bowl, and his opportunities to do so are disappearing rapidly. A trade to Oakland would erase at least one more precious chance to make a Super Bowl run.

If a trade is imminent, dealing McNabb to the Minnesota Vikings would be a much more considerate move than shipping him to Oakland. 

The Raiders just aren't called the "Black Hole" for its fans. Oakland is where players go to die.

The Indianapolis Colts will never entertain offers for Peyton Manning. The New England Patriots will never contemplate trading Tom Brady. 

Of course, each owner runs their franchise a different way. Indianapolis and New England have won championships while Philadelphia hasn't. That fact alone should reveal which front office actually knows how to run a successful NFL franchise, and which does not.