The 'L' in NFL Does Not Stand for Loyalty

Marcus Allen and Joe Montana finished their careers with the Kansas City Chiefs. O.J. Simpson retired as a member of the San Francisco 49ers. Emmitt Smith finished with the Arizona Cardinals while Tony Dorsett finished with the Denver Broncos. Tim Brown last played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and even Jerry Rice played for the Seattle Seahawks and then went to camp with the Denver Broncos after two years with the Oakland Raiders. This is just a short list of the Hall of Fame players who finished their careers in a different uniform than the one that they spent their entire careers going to war in and now, it appears that Philadelphia Eagle Quarterback Donovan McNabb will be the next player to join this illustrious list.

Rumors have been circulating for weeks that the Philadelphia Eagles have been listening to offers regarding trades for Donovan McNabb. The Eagles either seemed convinced that Kevin Kolb, or possibly Michael Vick are their quarterback of the near future, or the differences between McNabb and some member of the organization are irreconcilable. Whatever the reason, the Eagles have not come forward since the rumors reached the media to say that they are not listening to offers for McNabb, so apparently, they are.

Ego and economics are the two driving forces in the operation of an NFL Franchise. Sometimes, an owner´s ego can make him think, like Al Davis does, that he knows more about football than the people whose job it is to make football decisions. Other times, the owner´s ego, like Jerry Jones, makes them do whatever it takes to win, and will not accept anything less than perfection. In the case of the Eagles, they seem to be either more driven by the economics of the game, in that they are unwilling to pay McNabb his $6 million that he would be owed for the upcoming season, despite the fact that Kevin Kolb might not be the long term solution at quarterback, or by ego in that they believe that Kolb is a better solution than McNabb. Whichever it is, McNabb finds himself in the way in Philadelphia.

Donovan McNabb has played his entire career in Philadelphia and has endured undue criticism from the media, the fans, ownership, his coaches, and at times, teammates. Despite that, he has never been anything but a professional, both on the field and off. However, McNabb will also turn 34 years old during the next NFL season, and enters the season as the top quarterback in the league who has never won a Super bowl, having only appeared in one, and thus not giving the Eagles the confidence that they will win one with him at the helm. Kevin Kolb might not be any better, but in their eyes, he couldn´t be any worse. Either way, in a year, there will undoubtedly be several stud quarterbacks who will be making themselves available for the 2011 NFL Draft, and the Eagles will have the opportunity to reload at the position.

Before the first snap of the 2010 NFL season, Donovan McNabb will be wearing a different set of colors, and will be calling signals for his new teammates. The team that ends up with him will be getting a quality quarterback who might have a few good years left in him, and McNabb will be free of the Philadelphia sports scene. There will be a lot of happy people once this scenario plays itself out. Hopefully the Eagles, with whatever decision they make, will be one of them.