I have to admit, I didn’t see this one coming: I’d expected the Vikings to either go with Christian Ponder or Joe Webb as the starting quarterback, not to bring in a big name veteran:
The Minnesota Vikings and Washington Redskins have agreed in principle to a trade sending QB Donovan McNabb to Minnesota.
The deal is contingent upon McNabb taking a significant pay cut, but according to Jay Glazer, “FOXSports.com has learned the Minnesota Vikings have agreed to acquire McNabb in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2012 draft and possibly a conditional 2013 draft pick.”
That’s a much lower cost in draft picks than Washington was supposedly asking, so it works well for Minnesota in that dimension. It’ll be interesting to see how McNabb works with the two young quarterbacks in training camp.
Update: Of course, no trade will satisfy everyone, but this particular one has Ryan Boser incensed:
If you’ve read my work here, you’re well aware of my disdain for McNabb. At 10:15 tonight, Jay Glazer tweeted that the Vikings have agreed to send two sixth-round picks (2012, and a conditional 2013) to Washington for the 34-year old.
The deal is contingent on the egotistical vet taking a massive pay cut from the $12.5M he’s owed this season (he’s just one year into a six-year, $89.2M deal).
The optimist in me hopes that the delusional McNabb, who still thinks he’s elite, will put the kibosh on it. Realistically, it’s a lock that the Vikings will head into the season with their third (or fourth) choice under center.
[. . .]
He’ll obviously take a pay cut, but he’ll still cost a sub-.500 team chock-full of holes way too much cap space (in addition to the draft picks). Specifics for the restructured deal are expected tomorrow.
If the coaching staff were really worried about throwing first-rounder Christian Ponder (who’s been preparing like a maniac) to the wolves, then spend pennies on the backup mentor and let Joe Webb take the early-season starts.
Ponder’s the future, so you have nothing to lose by letting a sixth-round wide receiver be the sacrificial lamb. Who knows, you might just discover that you stumbled on to a gem. As it stands, you can stick a fork in Joe Webb, the quarterback.
Update, the second: Dan Zinksi has a bit of advice for McNabb:
The drama this time reportedly revolves around McNabb himself and his apparent hurt feelings over not being shown a level of deference comparable to that which the Vikings showed Brett Favre during their pursuit of him the last two seasons. As ESPN puts it, “McNabb was concerned Tuesday night about how the Vikings’ side of the situation was handled.” Evidently McNabb expected several Viking veterans to fly to his home in Zygi Wilf‘s jet bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh and possibly a six-pack, and was bothered when this did not happen.
[. . .]
Here’s my advice for you Donovan as you embark upon your new career as the quarterback the Vikings had to settle for because they lost out on Tyler Thigpen: Get your hands on that playbook as fast as possible. Also, get hold of Sidney Rice‘s phone number and start working on him to stay with the Vikings. You could have a nice array of weapons in Minnesota — better than you had last year in Washington for sure — but only if Rice stays. Third, try to be humble. Come in and say all the right things and do all the right things. And if your coaches ask you to wear a wristband? Remember that it’s for your own good and just wear the damn wristband.
