So why isn’t one of the best quarterbacks of the past generation employed?
It’s a great question, given that there are plenty of bad quarterbacks in the NFL -- and not nearly enough good ones to fill up every depth chart.
As we see it, Donovan McNabb’s stubborn belief that he remains an elite talent is keeping him from getting a job. If he were ready to embrace the seven-figure clipboard phase of his career, McNabb surely would be employed as a backup, somewhere. But he continues to regard himself as a guy who deserves a starting job, as confirmed by his recent remarks regarding the status of his career.
McNabb says he has “unfinished business,” and that he is working to get to back to an “elite level.” That doesn’t sound like a guy who is willing to embrace the role of an understudy and/or veteran mentor to a young starter.
Still, McNabb could eventually get an opportunity. If a team experiences a rash of injuries and finds itself looking for a Vinny-Testaverde-at-age-43 warm body, McNabb’s phone will ring. But it would be ringing right now if he were willing to be something other than the unquestioned starting quarterback.