The fact that Donovan McNabb was waived by the Minnesota Vikings and not a single team claimed him should tell us all we need to know. McNabb’s best years are behind him. No team in the NFL thinks he is capable of contributing at this point, but Bears fans are officially desperate. With Caleb Hanie under center, Matt Forte out with a knee injury, and a loss to the Chiefs on Sunday, Chicago’s playoff hopes are in serious jeopardy. Devin Hester does not think McNabb is the solution.
“It’s going to be tough right now to pick up a quarterback that hasn’t played in the Mike Martz offense,” Hester said Monday on Mike and Mike in the Morning according to Pro Football Talk. “This is a difficult offense to run, so as far as a quarterback who hasn’t played in the offense, right now it’s going to be a waste of time.”
Before we start accusing Hester of ripping McNabb and calling him useless, let us recall the way things ended for Donovan with his two previous teams. In Washington, his tenure ended with Mike Shanahan inviting him back as a backup. In Minnesota, he quickly became a backup when the on-field results were horrible.
He can blame poor teams all he wants, but McNabb is no longer a capable starting quarterback in the NFL and Hester is right about Martz’s offense. After he left Philadelphia, McNabb showed no signs that he was able to learn another team’s playbook and adapt to a new system. There is even less reason to believe he would be able to do it in Chicago.
