In a move that will shock no one who has been paying attention to the situation, Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb wants the team to release him, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Per Schefter, McNabb wants to be able to pick the team with which he’ll finish his career.
That’s fine. But why then did McNabb accept a new deal that paid him $3.5 million and that gave the Redskins the ability to squat on his rights until the day after the 2011 regular-season opener? If McNabb hadn’t signed the contract, he would have been a free agent after the season.
At a bare minimum, McNabb should have to pay back the $3.5 million. With interest.
The question becomes whether coach Mike Shanahan will insist on trying to trade McNabb, and whether Shanahan will be willing to allow the situation in 2011 to become a Haynesworthian affair, at least until the eve of the regular-season opener.