Donovan McNabb: 10 Reasons Retirement Is His Best Option
Donovan McNabb struggled through what was by far the worst season of his career.
In 2010, he was benched, publicly declared either out of shape or incompetent by his head coach, all while watching his former team ride Michael Vick to the NFC East championship.
Although he signed a huge contract extension during this season, the Redskins have the ability to unload McNabb during the off-season.
If that is the case, McNabb should give some consideration to walking away from the NFL.
Here are 10 reasons why.
No. 10: Drew Bledsoe
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Forget about the mobility factor for a second. Donovan McNabb's career has been fairly similar to that of QB Drew Bledsoe.
Both were top two draft picks (McNabb second in 1999, Bledsoe first in 1993) who helped revitalize a struggling franchise, taking them to a Super Bowl appearance.
Like Bledsoe, who was forced out of New England by Tom Brady, McNabb was forced out of Philly by Kevin Kolb and/or Michael Vick.
And like Bledsoe (with the Bills), McNabb left town for a division rival, had one surprising victory over their former team, but eventually fell back into mediocrity.
As bad as things were for Bledsoe in Buffalo, they really were worse in Dallas, the second team he joined after parting from his original club. As a short-term fix, he constantly had Tony Romo to worry about.
Wherever McNabb plays in 2011, there will be some young player who fans and coaches want to get a look at.
No. 9: Blaine Gabbert, Ryan Mallett, Cam Newton
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Let's assume McNabb stays in Washington. There is still a very good chance that the Redskins use their 10th overall selection in this year's draft.
If that is the case, why would McNabb want to stay around and help one of those rookies squeeze him out of either the starting job or the backup to Rex Grossman gig? Brett Favre didn't seem that excited about Aaron Rodgers arrival in 2005.
Even if McNabb does go somewhere else, that means the quarterback position on the team he is joining is questionable to say the least. The possibility of Gabbert, Newton, or Mallett being drafted is also there.
No. 8: Joe Namath and Johnny Unitas
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When people think of Joe Namath, most choose to block out the mental image of him playing for the Los Angeles Rams.
When people think of Johnny Unitas, most choose to block out the mental image of him playing for the San Diego Chargers.
And when people think of Donovan McNabb, most should choose to block out the mental image of him playing for the Washington Redskins.
Playing another season, in Washington or anywhere else oustide Philadelphia, will help make that mental image last a little longer.
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No. 7: Cardinals, Titans, Raiders, Etc.
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If a team is in the market for a quarterback, that almost always means they have a gaping hole at the position.
But it also often means that the team or even the entire organization is bad and they are more than one positional upgrade away from being a competitor.
McNabb was ushered out of Philly, which for all their faults and inabilities to win a Super Bowl, is still one of the league's best run organizations. Now he is a member of one of the league's worst run organizations.
Moving from there to the Cardinals (who this year squandered a lot of the good credibility they earned from 2008-09), or to the Titans (that situation with Bud Adams and Jeff Fisher is ugly), or even the Raiders would be a major downgrade.
No. 6: Washington's Offense
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The Redskins had a nice finish to the regular season, defeating the Jaguars on the road and losing by a field goal or less to Dallas, Philadelphia, and Tampa Bay.
Is the future really that bright in Washington?
The defense is okay and there are two pretty good young tackles on the offensive line, but the overall collection of talent at the skill position is arguably the worst in the NFL.
Clinton Portis could be headed for retirement, Santana Moss will be an 11-year vet next season, and Anthony Armstrong was their second leading receiver. Chris Cooley is still a very good tight end. but with Ryan Torrain penciled in as the starting back, there will be questions about the running game in 2011, even with Mike Shanahan's great zone scheme.
It has to be hard for McNabb to look up at the Eagles and see Michael Vick have two excellent wide receivers and a fine running back.
No. 5: The Redskins Front Office
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We all know how poor a job Daniel Snyder has done running his franchise. Six different head coaches since 2000, acquisitions of overpriced, under producing free agents like Albert Haynesworth and Jeff George and only two playoff appearances since 2000.
It's the lack of respect that the front office showed this year that is most disturbing.
McNabb signed his enormous contract extension (six years, $89.2 million) on November 15. That move seemed to suggest the team was committing to him for at least a few seasons.
The next day, it was revealed that McNabb's deal could essentially be voided at the end of the season with very little penalty.
That had to be an embarrassment for McNabb, who then went out and was thumped at home by his former team.
That was a pretty big PR nightmare for everyone involved. The front office did not show much love for their quarterback by letting that story mushroom without much explanation.
No. 4: Injuries
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McNabb was never the same type of record-setting runner as his Eagles successor Mike Vick or one of his Eagles predecessor's Randall Cunningham.
He was a great scrambler during the early part of his career. Most of his signature plays came outside of the pocket.
It is no coincidence that his productivity has diminished since he's suffered through a few leg injuries and has pushed well past his twenties.
His number of rushes has declined every season since 2007. Without that threat, he is less capable of making plays outside the pocket or getting away from pressure.
Taking that part of his game away leaves him much more vulnerable and much less likely to succeed.
No. 3: Brett Favre
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Any quarterback who is on the wrong side of 30 but still thinks they have one great season left in them should consider Brett Favre as a cautionary tale.
He did have one great season left in him, 2009,but Favre pulled the "unretirement" care one too many times and in 2010, he was a nightmare.
Even if you forget about the Jenn Sterger scandal, his season was horrible. He struggled with timing and his ability to escape pressure.
McNabb is far younger than Favre, but Favre didn't rely on his feet as much as McNabb. Before this year, Favre didn't suffer the type of debilitating injuries that McNabb has.
If McNabb truly thinks he has a lot left in the tank, then he should hang around, but there has to be some consideration for what Favre went through (ON THE FIELD ONLY) this past year.
No. 2: Rex Grossman
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Regardless of whether or not McNabb stays in Washington, there will always be one line on his career legacy that he'll never be able to shake. He was benched in favor of Rex Grossman. (Not only that, but the Redskins did bring in JaMarcus Russell for a tryout).
For a proud player like McNabb, who was certainly one of his eras most productive quarterbacks and a border-line Hall of Famer, that should be a horrible slap in the face.
Grossman made some plays in Washington, during his three-game end-of-the-season stint, but he still completed only 55 percent of his passes, and threw four picks.
Grossman is probably not as bad as people want to remember him from his Super Bowl XLI performance. For McNabb to lose the job to him, under any circumstances other than injury, is something he has to cringe at.
No. 1: Mike Shanahan
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Who knows why, but Mike Shanahan seemingly has no respect for McNabb.
That incident at the end of the Lions game was a gross dereliction of authority by the Redskins head coach. If McNabb did not in fact have the "cardiovascular endurance" to run the no-huddle (which is hard to believe), Shanahan should have covered for the quarterback, not answered the question, or just made up another excuse.
If McNabb's inability to understand the two-minute offense was the reason, as he had previously stated, why he benched his quarterback, that is as much Shanahan's fault as anyones.
How could a player who has run NFL offenses for a decade with great success, not grasp the handsignals and terminology of a two minute offense? Was Shanahan covering for his son, offensive coordinator Kyle?
A month later, he again showed little respect when he benched McNabb at the end of the regular season in favor of Rex Grossman.
Not because he benched McNabb, but because Shanahan didn't even tell him and McNabb found out through the media.
If there isn't a good fit out there for McNabb, rather than play for Shanahan, he should consider walking away from the game. Only if he can't find a decent home since he could still have something left.
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