McNabb headed to Redskins
Eagles get draft picks, hand QB reins to Kolb
PHILADELPHIA — His voice betrayed no emotion, because, well, because he is Andy Reid.
At a little after 9:30 p.m. on Easter Sunday, The Philadelphia Eagles’ coach settled in behind a microphone as reporters scurried for seats and TV stations hustled cameras onto tripods.
“OK, we’re, ah, I’m here to announce we’ve traded Donovan McNabb to the Washington Redskins, for their second-round pick and then a pick next year, a fourth-round pick that can become a third-round pick next year,” Reid said, in the same familiar tone that, during the season, heralds the listing of injuries.
“Obviously, that was a tough decision to make, in trading Donovan. He’s been such a great player here for 11 years, and set every record that you could set with this organization, and been a great example on and off the field in everything he’s done. I have nothing but good things to say about Donovan. Unfortunately, things like this happen in the National Football League.”
With those words, the McNabb era ended and the Kevin Kolb era began. Reid jettisoned his franchise quarterback, the player who made Reid’s coaching reputation after the then-new, unproven former Green Bay assistant chose McNabb second overall in 1999, the choice announced while fans booed the fact that he wasn’t running back Ricky Williams.
“I’m really excited about my future with the Washington Redskins,” McNabb said in a statement Sunday night. “I’m eager to work with coach (Mike) Shanahan. He’s been a very successful coach with a couple of Super Bowl victories on his résumé. While it has been my goal to win a Super Bowl in Philadelphia, we came up short. I enjoyed my 11 years here and we shared a lot more good times than bad.”
Reid said Sunday night that the decision to move on evolved over the past few months, starting with the fact that McNabb, Kolb and Michael Vick all have contracts that expire after the 2010 season. That led, Reid said, to teams inquiring about all three quarterbacks, and eventually, “it just became evident” that trading McNabb was the way to go – with Reid determined to give McNabb the courtesy of being OK with the place he was being sent.
Reid indicated the Redskins offered the best combination of compensation (the 37th overall pick in the April 22-24 draft, said to be the deepest in many years) and desirability for McNabb, who probably could have torpedoed a trade, since he is signed only through this season.