DownSwinging.com

Donovan McNabb was rewarded for his efforts throughout his career with the Philadelphia Eagles. While McNabb and the Eagles originally sat down at the negotiating table to work out a contract extension, instead they agreed on a raise for McNabb for the remaining two years of his contract that will expire after the 2010-2011 season.

The Eagles made a smart play here. They upped the amount they will pay McNabb over the next two years by about $7 million, but in doing so they accomplished a lot. Firstly, the priority had to be keeping McNabb in Philadelphia. Early in the off-season there was talk of an unhappy McNabb maybe leaving the city of Brotherly Love, but in keeping him around the Eagles went with the sure-fire quarterback who has succeeded in Philly for some time now. Particularly since the Eagles have drafted offensive tools McCoy and Maclin as well as a few via free agency, the worst thing they could do would be to start over with another quarterback. They needed to keep McNabb, and finally allow him to work with an offense that is truly capable of scoring touchdowns, something that has not been there in the past

Secondly, the Eagles were able to hang on to a happy McNabb without making further committments to the 32-year old QB, which is important because there is no way of knowing where McNabb’s body will be in two years, and that’s not a risk the Eagles want to take a risk on. They were able to build a solid team now without compromising the future. Look for the Eagles to be heavy contenders in the NFL’s best division.