Sources have told ESPN's Adam Schefter that the Minnesota Vikings plan to release veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb today. McNabb, who signed with the Vikings prior to this season, has been a disappointment in Minnesota and was benched in favor of rookie Christian Ponder after he led the Vikings to a 1-5 start.
The Vikings were coming off a 39-10 loss to the Bears and the following week, head coach Leslie Frazier decided to bench the veteran in favor of Ponder, the 12th overall pick in this year's draft.
McNabb still believes he has a lot of football left and wants to come back. He decided to ask the Vikings for his release after he realized that he would not be starting for the Vikings for the remainder of the season.
He will reach waivers on Friday and there could be a few potential suitors. The team with the highest priority will be able to claim him.
A few weeks ago, the Broncos released quarterback Kyle Orton in favor of former Florida star Tim Tebow. The Chiefs, Bears, and Cowboys were the only teams to put in a claim for Orton and he was eventually grabbed up by the Chiefs, who were looking for a quarterback after Matt Cassel was placed on injured reserve.So with the Bears and Cowboys not getting their man, it is suspected that one or both teams will put in a claim for McNabb. The Bears recently lost starting quarterback Jay Cutler for the season, but it is unclear as to why the Cowboys would want him since McNabb was once a bitter rival and they already have a starting quarterback in Tony Romo.
The Houston Texans could also put in a claim for McNabb after losing starter Matt Schaub and back-up Matt Leinart for the season. Rookie T.J. Yates, who played collegiately at North Carolina, is currently the starter and the team also signed veteran Jake Delhomme a few days ago to be the team's back-up.
Another team to look at is the 0-11 Indianapolis Colts. With Peyton Manning yet to play, the Colts have had a problem at the quarterback position all year. They signed veteran Kerry Collins at the beginning of the season, but he turned out to be a horrible option.
They decided to bench Collins, who is now on injured reserve, in favor of former Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter. Painter has put the Colts in close situations, but he was never able to get them on top and win games. It has been reported that they will bench Painter in favor of Dan Orlovsky, who was on the 0-16 Lions squad, this week against the 8-3 New England Patriots.
However, I doubt the Colts will put in a claim for McNabb as it seems like they're purposely losing games and not going after any mediocre free agents that could benefit them in some way. They seem to want a big lead in the "Suck for Luck" campaign and McNabb could ruin that if he plays like he did when he was a Philadelphia Eagle.
We will see in the next couple of days as to what happens with the quarterback, who was the second overall pick in 1999 and was once beloved by Eagles fans.
