The current labor situation in the NFL continues to drag on with no immediate end in sight, despite the fact that both sides; league owners and player representatives returned to bargaining table this week with the help of a Federal Mediation Team. It is highly doubtful that anything meaningful will emerge from this latest round of talks as both sides are anxiously awaiting the outcome of June 3 hearing by the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals on the owners’ appeal of US District Judge Susan Nelson’s decision to grant an injunction to lift the lockout. Both sides are anticipating a resolution in their favor so the current mediation talks are only taking place because they were court ordered.
Many of the players around the league have started organizing their own team workouts and the good news from Eagles’ camp is that quarterback Michael Vick has taken the initiative to organize some workouts in Philadelphia starting this week. Reports are that Vick is hoping to have about 15 players join him including some from the defensive secondary in order to run some one-on-one passing drills. As of today, Vick has yet to find a facility to hold them at, given the fact they are currently locked out of the Eagles’ practice facilities at the Linc.
Much has been made about the future of Philly backup quarterback Kevin Kolb, which continues to point to a trip out West to join the Arizona Cardinals, but what about the future of former QB Donovan McNabb? It is highly doubtful he will be back in Washington after last season’s fall-out with Head Coach Mike Shanahan and his son Kyle, who is the team’s offensive coordinator. McNabb’s numbers last season were not the greatest, but neither were the ones for the team he played for. Once again, he finds himself embroiled in the middle of a controversy that was none of his doing.
For as good as a player as McNabb has been over the course of his 12 year career, he still struggles to get the respect that he rightfully deserves. I was in full agreement last season when Andy Reid decided to go in a different direction by naming Kevin Kolb as a starter. McNabb took the Eagles as far as he was going to and it was time for a clean break for all the parties involved. Shanahan’s Mickey Mouse move of replacing McNabb as the starter with Rex Grossman at the end of last season made absolutely no sense other than to signal that his style of play did not fit the Redskins’ offensive scheme, so they decided to look toward the future.
Some of the teams that have been mentioned as the next stop in Donovan’s illustrious career are Minnesota and Miami. My only hope is that he lands with a team that has a legitimate shot at competing for a Super Bowl as that is the only piece of hardware that is missing from his resume. He still has enough ability to be a starter in the league and a trip to Indianapolis next February may be the only way he finally joins the elite company of a player such as John Elway, whose career was finally validated by a Super Bowl win.
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