The decision to bench Donovan McNabb may have had to do with more than just his play on the field.
According to Michael Lombardi of NFL Network, McNabb doesn’t want to put in the time and shows up late for meetings and practice. On NFL Network’s NFL GameDay Morning, tardiness was mentioned as a reason that Vikings coach Leslie Frazer decided to bench McNabb for Christian Ponder.
PFT has asked the Vikings for a response to Lombardi’s report.
McNabb also apparently struggled to learn the Vikings’ offense, and that led to him needing a big wristband with the Vikings’ plays on it. Last year, McNabb reportedly refused to wear a wristband with the Redskins’ plays on it, angering coach Mike Shanahan.
Lombardi also reports that the Vikings’ veterans noticed McNabb’s lack of commitment, which is why most of the locker room agreed with Frazier’s decision to replace McNabb with Ponder. All in all, it sounds like there aren’t many people left in the NFL who view McNabb as someone who can lead a franchise. Now the Vikings will have to hope that Ponder can.