For more than two months, the Eagles played it coy regarding the possibility of trading quarterback Donovan McNabb, hoping for an offer they couldn’t refuse.
And then when the offer never came, they needed a Plan B.
Plan B has unfolded far more haphazardly, with coach Andy Reid publicly acknowledging that offers have been made for McNabb and then smoldering rumors of a trade to the Rams becoming a report from Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the trade could happened by the end of the week, if not by the end of the day.
(The Rams strongly denied the report, and McLane has since backed off dramatically. But the damage may already have been done. We’re hearing that McLane had been hoping to become the new Eagles beat writer for the Inquirer, replacing Bob Brookover, who now covers the Phillies. We’re also hearing that the swing and the miss on the McNabb-to-Rams story may have kept that from happening.)
So if the Rams aren’t doing a deal, which team will? Jason La Canfora of NFL.com reports that the Raiders are “in heaviest pursuit.” Other possibilities are the Bills and Cardinals. (However, one media source with whom we spoke is convinced that Buffalo owner Ralph Wilson would never pay McNabb an eight-figure salary.)
Even though McNabb reportedly prefers Arizona to Buffalo or Oakland, the Raiders have shown that they’re not afraid to trade for a reluctant player with only one year left on his contract. They did it last year with defensive end Richard Seymour, who now carries the exclusive level of the franchise tag.
So stay tuned. As explained in the latest edition of PFT Daily, we now think it’s just a matter of time before the Eagles move McNabb.