Donovan McNabb Elaborates on His Carson Wentz Comments

Donovan McNabb in 2018
Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Donovan McNabb, the greatest quarterback in Philadelphia Eagles history, was on 97.5 the Fanatic this morning.

You’ll recall recent comments he made about Carson Wentz, noting his concern for the QB’s injury history and suggesting that the Eagles might want to draft a quarterback if Wentz doesn’t get the Birds out of the divisional round in the near future. Donovan clarified those comments after a backlash that included Lane Johnson referring to him as a snake and essentially accusing him of jealousy.

So Donovan was asked again about his Carson comments, with Marc Farzetta explaining that people took it negatively.

McNabb:

But my point is, why? Because I’m an analyst and a question is presented to me, I’m supposed to answer the way I see fit. Being truthful, right? I think a lot of times media members send mixed messages because they say one, players are not honest and upfront, then, two, when they are honest and upfront then it’s too much. Or, three, if sometimes when it’s certain people, we want to judge it or have a different type of emotional feel to their answer because of who it is. And that’s unfair. It’s unfair because, from a reality and business standpoint, if you’re not able to be out on the football field and contributing to your team on a consistent basis, which is the most important position to a football team, they’re gonna have the backup come in.

And if the backup is in too much, one thing you don’t want to have is your backup being out there really too much longer than you want him to be, then you’re gonna go out there and draft someone who you think can fill that void. That’s just the lay of the land. We’ve all been through it. Tra (Thomas) has been through it. I’ve been through it. The list of everybody that’s played in the past, 5, 10, 15, 20, or 100 years, these owners and presidents and GMs, they’re gonna find a way to either find a player less talented than you that they can pay less, or find two players that they can pay for the price they’re paying you, if you’re not contributing.

Farzetta then asked Donovan if Carson Wentz is a guy in whom Donovan would invest his future. Can he be a perennial MVP candidate?

More McNabb, after the jump:

The Carson Wentz I saw in his second season, as an MVP candidate? Absolutely. If he would have continued on these last two years, Carson Wentz would have been paid about $24 million dollars a year. The fact that he’s been hurt and he tore his ACL and didn’t really recover from that – because I remember I tore my ACL in 2007 – then the next year you come back and have a back injury that everyone thought you needed surgery, but you didn’t and you rehabbed it, then you come out and say a month ago that you’re not fully healthy from the knee injury from two years ago and you’re not 100% healthy from the back injury. So he could possibly be going into training camp rehabbing, or on the PUP list (physically unable to perform).

As a quarterback and face of the franchise, you don’t want to start your season without your starter. Say he does start, then he battles some injury all the way through, then week 10, week 12, he’s out for 2-3 weeks. People in Philadelphia are gonna start rumbling. They already have an issue that Nick Foles is gone. Probably 75% of the fans in Philadelphia are mad that Nick Foles is gone. So when I say something, it becomes an issue. But the reality of it all is that if you don’t have Carson Wentz out there, that’s not a good sign for the Philadelphia Eagles.

A couple things here:

  1. I agree 100% with Donovan when he suggests that people are going to judge his opinions a certain way because of who he is. Whenever Donovan says something critical of a current Eagle, a portion of fans will just automatically accuse of him of doing the sour grapes routine, which is unfair.
  2. I don’t know if 75% of Eagles fans are mad that Nick Foles is gone. I can’t put a number on it, but I feel like it’s closer to 50%, the number of people who felt like the Birds should have kept Nick around and done something else with Carson instead.
  3. Carson’s knee should be 100% by training camp. I can’t imagine there’s an issue there. And there’s no way Howie Roseman would continue to talk about wanting to sign Wentz to a long-term deal if he wasn’t confident in the back fully healing by the time camp begins. Otherwise, the entire medical staff should find new jobs.

But it’s a good interview, and I don’t dismiss Donovan’s opinions outright, even though he sometimes says things that can be off-base. I personally don’t think he really “clicked” with Philly fans the way he could have or should have, but when your introduction to this fan base is 30 mouthbreathers booing your selection at the draft, I can understand why one might feel a certain way.

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20 Responses

    1. Did you see that Instagram video of him bench pressing? Dude is intense.

    2. It’s hilarious to me how much people hate on Jaws. And it’s all because he doesnt kiss up to the fan base like McNabb. Ever wonder why McNabb sucks up so much? It’s because he made a ton of dough-rae-me while playing and needs to pander to do the hippitty skippity because he has all these investments in the area. The guy is a stud wanger. But this fan base is too smart to realize it. Instead they spend weeks trashing the best QB in history (wentz) for speaking the truth. If Wentz isnt able to stay healthy over the next few years, people will lose their car keys. That is all foles was saying. But then again, most people get their opinions fed to them by aliens that should have left earth 20 years ago.

  1. It’s hilarious to me how much people hate on McNabb. And it’s all because he doesnt kiss up to the fan base like Jaws. Every wonder why Jaws sucks up so much? It’s because he didnt make a ton of money while playing and needs to pander to the philly fan base because he has all these investments in the area. The guy is a fraud. But this fan base is too stupid to realize it. Instead they spend weeks trashing the best QB in history for speaking the truth. If Wentz isnt able to stay healthy over the next few years, people will lose their minds. That is all McNabb was saying. But then again, most people get their opinions fed to them by sports radio hosts that should have retired 20 years ago.

    1. Nailed it. FIve should start up a chain of crappy golf courses in the area and play up is Irish Catholic heritage like Jaws relates to the blue collar Polish Catholics.

    2. Ever compare Jaworski’s Super Bowl performance to the supposed lousy McNabb Super Bowl performance?

      McNabb puts Jaworski to shame. Jawroski should have been run out of town on a rail for that Super Bowl.

      Ever compare McNabb’s Super Bowl performance to the next three Super Bowl winning QB’s performances?

      McNabb was better. And he had a hobbled TO, a tight end who literally was on a construction site the weekend of the NFC Championship game and Todd Pinkston who GAVE UP on the game….oh and Freddie Mitchell as his main weapons. He put up 21 points and 375 yards basically with garbage against a defense that shut down Peyton Manning completely and beat up on Ben Rothliesberger in the two previous games.

      McNabb didn’t play the game here with the media. Plain and simple. And the media has been crying about it ever since.

      Anyone who objectively looks at what he did here, with the weapons he was given and the injuries he actually took the field and played through to great success would be asking why a statue wasn’t built to the guy. Instead you have dumbasses on talk radio–hosts and callers–mocking him constantly.

      He’s also, dead on, 100% right about Carson Wentz. Again anyone who objectively looks at what he said would know that.

      1. Couldn’t have said it better. Spot on. 5 is the best qb in franchise history and people bash him over bs.

    3. When he threw 3 interceptions in the Super Bowl losing as a favorite to a wild card team.

      1. how did Brian Dawkins do in those 3 or 4 straight NFC championship games that the Eagles lost? Yet he is a hero around here, right? You don’t judge a players career by one bad game in the SB, which by the way, was horrible! However, he was pretty good that season, and the 1980 NFC championship where the Eagles crushed the Cowboys, was one of the best Eagles games ever (prior to winning the SB a couple years ago). Jaworski gets respect (and I am not a McNabb hater) because he was on some horrible Eagles teams, and literally took a beating as bad as any QB I’ve ever seen play, and he continually got up, shook himself off, and played. He persevered and got them to the SB. Never once complained about his OL or anyone. That guy was the definition of a gamer. LT probably went to the HOF just based on how many times he sacked Ron Jaworski. So yeah, that is why he’s a legend in Philly. Who cares how many golf courses he owns? Good for hime that he is still around contributing to the local economy.

  2. 5 just keeps on making more and more sense.

    And Howie officially hitched his wagon (and job) to Carson the second he let Nick walk out of town. Carson is getting that extension no matter what Howie hears about that knee going forward…

  3. the greatest quarterback in Philadelphia Eagles history……in other words, better QB than Jaws or Randall. wow.

  4. All I can say as I’ve said many times. Donovan McNabb is a hall of fame QB. But Carson Wentz is a unmitigated disaster. A person without the intestinal fortitude to succeed in the NFL. That’s right I said it.

    1. hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha ….I’m sorry ..wait a min …hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

  5. Number 5 is right. People are just too salty to realize that CW might just be an “okay” quarterback with injury issues. Time will tell (or already has).

    1. or maybe giving him more than three years ( 2 and a quarter) on the actual field to prove it, might make some sense as well …

  6. Nice try Kinker but every Wentz vs Foles poll that I’ve seen this offseason always favored Carson at around 80-20. Just because a bunch of drunk meatballs yell at the radio and spam comment sections doesn’t make it the prevailing opinion of the region.

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