The Oakland Raiders have emerged as the leading candidate to land quarterback Donovan McNabb in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, league sources tell ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
The sources say all the ingredients for a trade are in place. Of all the teams the Eagles have spoken with, the Raiders have been the most willing to meet the Eagles' asking price. Last week, The Associated Press reported that the Eagles want a pick in the top 42 of the 2010 draft for McNabb. Oakland has a second-round pick that is the 39th overall selection.
One source familiar with trade discussions said no deal was done with Oakland. But other league sources predicted it soon would be done in a trade that would be the NFL's biggest offseason move.
And although McNabb has informed coach Andy Reid that he wants to stay with the Eagles and, if he has to be traded, would prefer to go to a winning team such as the Minnesota Vikings, the sources say the Eagles will do what they believe is best for team even if it means trading McNabb to the Raiders, a team with a recent history of losing.
The sad story of Donovan McNabb’s career continues. The man has been underappreciated virtually his whole career in Philadelphia. McNabb has gotten shit from everyone and everywhere, including T.O., his own fan base, and even Rush Limbaugh. I’m not a Philly fan, or even a McNabb fan for that matter, but he seems like a genuinely good guy; always says the right things, never been in trouble, plays hard, does things for the community, etc. He’s been an above-average quarterback – and I think it’s safe to say, a top-10 quarterback – throughout his entire 11 year career. He’s kept the Eagles as a contender in the NFC year after year, leading them to multiple NFC title games and 1 Super Bowl appearance. And yes, he has had injury problems and durability issues, but by and large he’s been a solid NFL quarterback, not to mention the face of the Eagles, for a very long time.
That is why it’s so baffling to me that a city could treat its star player so poorly, especially one with no apparent character flaws or image issues. McNabb has essentially been shunned out of Philadelphia in favor of an unproven backup in Kevin Kolb, and an aging, fresh-out-of-jail felon in Michael Vick. He’s taken more crap for seemingly less reason than any athlete that I can remember, and now to top it all off, it looks like he’s headed to the black hole that is the Oakland Raiders. In Oakland, he’ll be in charge of leading a hopeless team, and mentoring JaMarcus Russell, an overpaid, overweight loser with no work ethic. Not exactly the best way for the Eagles to thank McNabb for 11 years of admirable service. If I were McNabb I would leave town with 2 middle fingers raised in the general direction of the entire city of Philadelphia.
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