Donovan Says Hail to the Redskins, but Not Hail Victory in DC

Charlie Klein

The Philadelphia Eagles did the unthinkable last night by trading their franchise quarterback Donovan McNabb to the Washington Redskins for the 37th overall pick and a third or fourth round selection in 2011.

Ever since 2008 when the country elected in Mr. Change himself to the White House, the city of Washington has come to represent that same word. There is finally some optimism surrounding the usually dreadful Washington Nationals following the selection and signing of Stephen Strasburg. The Capitals just won the President's Trophy, an accomplishment that must have seemed unthinkable only a few years ago. The Wizards still stink. And now the Redskins have traded for a future Hall of Fame quarterback to bring the franchise back to prominence.

This move puzzles me on many different levels. I have difficulty understanding the reasons why the Eagles were so quick to jettison their franchise quarterback within the division so that they could start a rookie this season. All of the statements made by Andy Reid and Jeffrey Lurie to me are a load of garbage.

The fact that Donovan McNabb is still a great option at quarterback in this league is undeniable. Sure, he is over the hill and does not have many prime years left in him, if at all. But I would venture to guess that he was not the only old bloke on the Eagles, the only player getting in the way of a youth movement.

Instead of McNabb, the Eagles will go into the 2010 season with Kevin Kolb, who up until last year had been considered a bust by most fans in Philadelphia. And then he went out and threw for 391 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions in a loss to the New Orleans Saints, and everyone was ready to run McNabb out of town. Kolb only has two career starts to his name and now he has become the guy in the city of brotherly love.

For the Redskins this appears to be a no-brainer. They have needed some veteran stability at that position for quite some time as the Jason Campbell experiment continued to yield the same bad results. And yet how much Campbell was truly at fault remains debatable. The Redskins have a notoriously bad offensive line that has been active long beyond its expiration date. And a slightly less mobile McNabb might not be the solution at all. But with a new coach that has a clue of how to run an offense in Mike Shanahan, perhaps McNabb will be able to lead the Redskins to the playoffs.

This whole situation to me feels like what would have happened if the Packers would have traded you know who (we don't write about him on this blog) straight to the Vikings instead of having him play for the Jets for one season before ending up in the Twin Cities. And I applaud the Eagles for not letting the situation drag out and become a public relations mess.

Only time will tell how successful this move will be, but I am venturing a guess that it will be good for neither party.