So if you haven’t heard by now, the Washington Redskins and quarterback Donovan McNabb have agreed upon a 5-year, $78 million extension with $40 million of that being guaranteed. Has the whole world gone crazy or is it just Dan Snyder? To put that much money in front of a 33-year old quarterback who’s best years are pretty clearly behind him is nothing short of absurd.
Then you have to wonder how head coach Mike Shanahan feels about this. The deal coming just two weeks after he pulled McNabb late in the game against Detroit for none other than phenom back-up (sarcasm hopefully noted) Rex Grossman. Shanahan’s explanation in so many words was that McNabb wasn’t as intelligent or conditioned to run the 2-minute drill. Really? The same guy who took the Eagles to 5 NFC Championship games and 1 Super Bowl appearance doesn’t know how to run a 2-minute drill as well as the the same guy who Lovie Smith had to answer question upon question concerning Grossman’s starting status when he was in Chicago. “Rex is our quarterback. Rex is our quarterback.” Then suddenly, Kyle Orton was their quarterback. Know why? Grossman’s pretty terrible.
Then looking at it from McNabb’s perspective. You surely can’t blame him for jumping at this contract at this stage in his career, but is it going to get him any closer to that elusive Super Bowl ring? No. With next season being locked out seeming like all but a certainty, he will be 35 when play resumes in 2012. However, a team like Minnesota or Arizona would give him a much more likely chance of seeing success before he calls it a career than his current team. If Brett Favre could take the Vikings to the NFC Championship at age 40 with the weapons they posess, imagine the possiblities for McNabb at 5 years his junior. By the way, he’d be handing the ball off to Adrian Peterson who would still be well in his prime. Or in Arizona, Larry Fitzgerald could re-emerge as the best receiver in football with an elite quarterback once againt throwing the ball his way, along with up and coming playmaker Steve Breaston.
So all in all, this is one huge mind-boggling move that more than anything just proves the fact that Dan Snyder loves to throw money around just to show he can. The problem is the game is real and he acts as if he’s playing with pretend money. McNabb will be laughing all the way to the bank, but in the end, no one wins this game because this move or any of the others Snyder makes bring Skins any closer to raising a Lombardi trophy. Keep shelling it out, Dan. You can’t take it with you.