Opinions on this trade vary pretty widely; some hate it, some love it.
Pencil this writer in as someone who doesn't like it. Notice I said pencil, not pen. You can change pencil.
Donovan McNabb took the Eagles to Super Bowl XXXIX and has proven over the years to be a thorn in the Redskins' side. He has been a consummate professional throughout his entire career and generally speaking, is one of the classiest star players the NFL has ever seen. His reputation precedes him more than any other player the Redskins could have acquired.
But it, as many other national commentators (Mike Wise of the Washington Post here) have pointed out, this move reeks of the Redskins usual offseason decision-making. Once again, the Skins made a huge offseason splash.
If you think the Redskins significantly upgraded at the quarterback position then the "splash" in this move is acceptable. But did they?
McNabb threw for 22 TDs, 10 INTs, and 3,553 yards in 14 games for the Eagles last year. By any measure, a good season. He ranked 12th in the NFL in passer rating at 92.9.
Jason Campbell threw for 20 TDs, 15 INTs, and 3,618 yards in 16 games in the burgundy and gold. He ranked 15th in the NFL in passer rating (86.4).
But comparing numbers between the two is sort of irrelevant (since they're within shouting distance of each other) without looking at those numbers in context.
Campbell was sacked the 3rd most among all quarterbacks in the league last year while playing behind a line that included such prestigious names as D'Anthony Batiste and Will Montgomery. He set career highs in yards, touchdowns, passer rating, and completion percentage (and INTs too). He maintained an air of professionalism in the midst of what was the most embarrassing season in Redskins history. He was no Pro Bowler, nowhere close. But he was a serviceable quarterback, who was clearly improving, and had provided the Redskins with an air of stability at the QB position that they have not had in nearly two decades.
An important feature of this trade is one out of the Redskins old bag of tricks: trading draft picks. The Skins gave up their 2nd round pick this year and either a 3rd or 4th rounder next year to get McNabb. They have traded for the following players using draft picks under owner Daniel Snyder: Mark Brunell, Jason Campbell (Remember, the Skins traded up to select him in 2005),
To replace him (and make no mistake, Campbell will be gone by the time the season starts because Rex Grossman already sits in the back-up QB spot) with McNabb is a "win-now" move. The Redskins were 4-12 last season. Bruce Allen and Mike Shanahan must believe the Redskins, recently gutted of ten players, some long-time vets, and with one pick in the first four rounds of the NFL Draft (No. 4 overall in the 1st Round), are able to win within the next 2-3 years.
McNabb is 33 years old and has 12 seasons of tough, NFC East football under his belt. He has taken a beating in his time in the NFL. McNabb reasonably has a maximum of 5 years left in his tank. Over Daniel Snyder's tenure as Redskins owner, the Redskins have perpetually been in win-now mode. This move is yet another move in that pattern.
The biggest difference between this move and recent ones is that the move comes at the most valuable and important position on the field. The Redskins have never made marquee moves at the quarterback position, only at every other one. McNabb brings a winning attitude, Pro-Bowl arm, and infectious leadership that some said Jason Campbell lacks.
The most disturbing facet of this trade comes from the Eagles side. The Eagles voluntarily traded their franchise leader in many passing categories to a division rival. They then immediately anointed Kevin Kolb, a 2007 2nd round pick who has played sparingly, as the starter. This means a combination of two things: they think McNabb is losing it AND that Kolb is ready to be the starter.
For Redskins' fans sanity, let's say the Eagles believe only in #2: Kolb is now the better option. That bodes well for the Skins; the Eagles made a relatively cut-and-dry decision to replace an aging, but still highly functioning, McNabb, with a younger, unproven player.
This option makes almost zero sense.
The Eagles can't possibly see enough in Kolb alone, with little regard for McNabb's performance, to have made this decision.
What is more likely is the Eagles evaluated McNabb like they have many of their other Pro Bowl players: Brian Dawkins, Jeremiah Trotter, Brian Westbrook, Troy Vincent, Bobby Taylor, to name a few. Of those players, Dawkins, Westbrook, Vincent and Taylor have gone on to careers with other teams (Westbrook was released this offseason and has not signed with another player). With those players, they made an evaluation that said the player was about to drop off in performance and was no longer worth the investment. What do the Eagles know about McNabb's future? Have they seen something on tape that the Redskins haven't?
Or on the flip side, have the Redskins seen something in McNabb's tape which, in their minds, made him too good of an asset to pass up? This fall will answer a lot of those questions for both organizations. And once again, the Redskins are Offseason Champs.
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