A Bitter McNabb is Ending His Career the Wrong Way

In recent years I’ve been fond of saying that no one retires an Eagle anymore. And in large part, it’s true. In looking at the majority of the team’s stars over the past decade, only one – Jeremiah Trotter – donned midnight green for the last snap of his career. And that was only after being brought back in 2009 after a three year absence.

Heck, look at the 2004 Super Bowl roster. Almost every major name on the list finished their career elsewhere.

Few players seem to be more bitter about leaving than the team’s former franchise quarterback. In fact, it seems like the more he opens his mouth, the more apparent it is that he feels everyone is against him.

Speaking with ESPN Wednesday, McNabb was asked if he thought Robert Griffin III, the Baylor quarterback widely presumed to be headed to Washington with the second overall pick in the draft, was a good fit for the Redskins. His response was surprisingly definitive:

"No. I say that because a lot of times, ego gets too involved when it comes to being in Washington. Here's a guy coming out who's very talented, mobile, strong-armed. We've already heard he's intelligent. Football mind. Are you going to cater the offense around his talents and what he's able to do? Or are you going to bring the Houston offense with Matt Schaub over to him and have him kind of be embedded into that?"

McNabb went on to say that he "sort of" had an axe to grind with the 'Skins (I'm paraphrasing), and that he felt the Shanahans didn't give him a fair shake at the job.

For most Eagles fans, McNabb being bitter is nothing new. We saw him at his passive aggressive best in 2008 when he blamed the Eagles' loss in the NFC Championship Game on the team's youth. And we've heard him throw barbs at the Redskins organization (which, in fairness, is a pretty terribly run organization).

If McNabb is looking to become the next Skip Bayless, these comments make sense. But if he's trying to find a playing gig for next season, he may have blown his last chance. Imagine for a moment you're an NFL decision-maker. Are you interested in bringing in a guy who's going to air your team's dirty laundry if things don't go his way?

No contending team needs a starter, and Super 5 doesn't have any interest in playing the backup role. So if--and it's a pretty big if--he finds a team for next season, it's likely not going to be one with a perfect locker room.

It's the latest episode in what is quickly becoming a sad downward spiral for maybe the best quarterback in franchise history. While his detractors in Philly are numerous, watching him play out the waning days of his NFL career like this is painful. We always knew McNabb would end up in the broadcast booth. But I don't think anyone saw it happening like this.

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