Donovan McNabb: Thoughts on His New Contract Extension

As if tonight's Monday Night Football clash needed another subplot to make it compelling, ESPN's Michael Smith has reported that the Redskins and quarterback Donovan McNabb have agreed on a contract extension that will pay the (soon-to-be) 34 year-old quarterback $78 million over the next 5 years, with $40 million guaranteed.  The next five years can earn McNabb a total of $88 million, if certain unspecified incentives are reached.

Okay, let's take a collective deep breath.  Wasn't it just a couple days ago that Mike Shanahan quite infamously and unceremoniously benched McNabb with fewer than two minutes remaining at Detroit, with the Skins down  by only five points? And wasn't it just yesterday that coach Shanahan kept inserting his footwear into his pie hatch while trying to excuse the benching--perhaps taking some bad public relations advice from LeBron James, Brett Favre and Tiger Woods in the process?

While an extension was not totally out of the question, the timing is dramatic--just hours before McNabb and the Redskins host his old team, the Philadelphia Eagles, on  Monday Night Football.  Any notion that the Shanahans (coach Mike and his son, the offensive coordinator, Kyle)  and McNabb could never work together after this season have been temporarily dispelled.

Well, they could trade him, but let's try to make sense of what we now know.

Certainly, it is a major gamble  for any team to extend a player, ostensibly, till age 39, although several quarterbacks have played well into their late 30's.  John Elway, who Shanahan coached to two Super Bowl wins, readily comes to mind. But, what about Donovan?

McNabb, in his otherwise near-brilliant NFL career that has featured one of the highest career winning percentages in the history of the NFL, has played through several injuries and has had a few seasons curtailed by physical ailments.  He has led the Eagles to the playoffs in seven of his 11 seasons--only 8 of which he started and finished healthy.  His 9-7 career playoff record includes 5 NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl appearances. 

Donovan has a terrific resume, especially if one considers the erratic offensive pieces he has been surrounded by for much of his career.  But, what about now?

The Redskins are a respectable 4-4 one season after their messy 4-12  campaign last year.  McNabb's individual stats are down this year, and many point to his passer rating, which is perched at 76.0, his lowest since his rookie year.

The counterpoints to that consideration are:

A) Not many signal callers would have a better rating with the type of offensive line (aptly named), running backs and receivers that the Redskins suit up.

B) Shanahan's curious explanatory comments to the contrary, McNabb looks to be in great shape this year, and has needed to be as he is often running for his life beyond that porous O-line.

This columnist believes that McNabb--judging by his terrific season in Philly last year--has a few good years left, and essentially, this is a three-year contract for $40 million.  Assuming he is not traded, and his skills don't fall off precipitously, Redskins fans have to put their faith in the Shanahans and the front office that they know what they're doing.

This might be a big leap of faith for Redskins Nation, which has had to put up with a lot of promise and even more disappointment since their heyday under Joe Gibbs (first tour of duty).

As for now, the move looks very curious, but may end up being the most sensible thing that has come out of the Redskins camp in a long time. That may not be saying a whole lot these days, but it's a start.