Donovan McNabb has passed for 37,276 yards with 234 touchdowns. He’s been to six Pro Bowls, most recently in 2009, and has led teams to six division titles and five conference championship games. Yet, he’s not one of the 133 quarterbacks on current NFL rosters, which allow for up to 90 players.  Read more after the jump.
McNabb has reportedly dropped 20 pounds this offseason. The 35-year-old has expressed a desire to continue his playing career. On Thursday night, the third overall pick of the 1999 NFL Draft told NBC SportsTalk that there’s an 80-to-90 percent chance he’ll be on an NFL roster at the start of the 2012 regular season.
“I have about three teams that I’m looking at,” McNabb said.
“I think teams are looking at what they have. They’re evaluating their young quarterbacks, their backup situation,” McNabb said. “Obviously, their starters they feel very confident in, but if things were to go wrong in training camp, or maybe the competition isn’t where they need it to be, they’ll obviously pick up the phone and call.”
McNabb declined to identify the teams he’s looking at, but did shed some light on what he’s looking for. Ideally, he’d play for a team that has a “solid running game, weapons on the outside, a defense that’s been playing well and playing well together, and that’s ready to win right now.”
Based on McNabb’s description, the first team that comes to mind is the Arizona Cardinals. Kevin Kolb, McNabb’s former Philadelphia Eagles understudy, is scheduled to compete with John Skelton for the Cardinals starting job this summer. McNabb makes his offseason home in Arizona and is neighbors with head coach Ken Whisenhunt. The Cardinals have a good running game, Larry Fitzgerald and first-round pick Michael Floyd on the outside, and a defense that really came on strong late last season under first-year coordinator Ray Horton.
Earlier this offseason, McNabb said that he’d vote for himself if he were a candidate for entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On Thursday night, he said that his father, Sam McNabb, would be his presenter.
“He’s the guy who, obviously, gave me the opportunity to have life,” McNabb said of his father. “He’s also taught me, through the years, making sure that each time I step out on the field — if it’s training, if it’s running, if it’s playing, that you be the best. And the only way you do that is by starting up in your brain and having your body follow it. Work ethic starts where everyone understands that you’re putting that extra foot forward in order to be the best.”
