The aftermath: more thoughts on the McNabb trade

A day later and I'm still surprised. Not at the thought of Donovan McNabb being traded, rather, the thought that the Eagles would trade him to a division rival like the Redskins. It really shows how confident the organization is that they would deal him away to a team that they have to play twice a year.

As Easter night went on, I posted a bunch of different thoughts on Twitter about the McNabb trade and I thought it would be good to round them all up here and expand on them past the 140 character limit. Here were some of the things running through my head last night:

-The Redskins offer must have been by far the best offer the Eagles received if they were willing to trade McNabb within the division. The Eagles must value Donovan a lot more than the rest of the league.

-Of course, Andy Reid did make it clear in his press conference that he wanted to do right by Donovan, meaning he was going to trade him to a decent team. While it's unclear whether the Eagles asked McNabb about where he preferred to be traded, it seems that Reid made an effort to keep him happy. It seems pretty clear that the Eagles wanted McNabb to go out on the best terms possible and that Donovan might have even been asked before they made the deal with Washington.

-On the other hand, really, Andy Reid, the Redskins? Do you really want to deal with that media circus twice a year? Reid seemed to have no issue with playing against McNabb, in fact, I'm guessing he has put together a pretty good gameplan on how to stop #5. Of course, McNabb will also know everything there is to know about the Eagles offense and he will readily share with the Skins.

-The Eagles won't be a better team in 2010 with Kevin Kolb at quarterback. Maybe by 2011, but not next year. With all of the youth on the offense, the good thing is that this team will have some time to grow together.

-With all of their offseason moves, the Eagles have cleared over 20 million dollars from their payroll. What exactly they plan to do with all that money, well, who knows? I'm sure an extension for Kolb is in the works.

-It was also a smart move by Reid to make it clear that Kolb is the starter next year; Michael Vick would have had delusions that the job was his. Of course, I do expect we see a lot more Vick next year.

-The Eagles now have 11 picks in the 2010 draft. Given Andy Reid's middling draft history, I wish I could be more confident in how those picks are going to be used. One thing is for sure, the Eagles will be doing plenty of wheeling and dealing on draft day. I won't be surprised if they move up into the top half of the first round if there is someone they are really high on.

In the end, the deal is done, McNabb is a Redskin and the Eagles are moving forward with Kevin Kolb. I hope all the fans take a minute to remember McNabb for the good things he did for this team rather than focus on the bad; despite not winning the big one, he was the best quarterback this franchise has ever known.