The Donovan McNabb Trade ~ Fantasy Implications

There are some huge fantasy implications involving the Donovan McNabb trade that went down Easter Sunday. As the speculation was swirling about where he could be traded (Oakland being the front runner), all of the obvious options were explored. Basically, every team that needed QB help was considered, including the Redskins who became less and less interested in Jason Campbell running the offense. The Redskins seem like a nice fit for McNabb because Mike Shannahan runs a similar West Coast offensive system and likes a QB who can bootleg or roll out, creating passing plays while scrambling. Prior to the trade going down, all the offensive pieces seemed to be in place for the Redskins to make a playoff run, as long as the right QB was put in place to run the plays (and as long as the holes in the offensive line get addressed during the NFL draft).

So, why the hell would the Eagles trade a pro-bowl caliber QB to a division rival, who they will play twice every year? There was speculation as early as Saturday that the Redskins had inquired about McNabb, but it was still more of a rumor than a report. This wasn't out of the ordinary because many of the teams needing an upgrade at QB had inquired about trading for him. Of course many people, including myself, immediately shot down the possibility of a trade between the Eagles and the Redskins involving any pro-bowl players, for obvious reasons. However, the relationship between McNabb and Andy Reid was strong enough that Reid was willing to trade McNabb to a division rival if it made McNabb happy.

"We thought this was the best for Donovan and