Evidently McNabb talk isn't going to end

The Vikings might have drafted a quarterback but there remains talk Donovan McNabb will still end up in Minnesota.

By judd zulgad

April 30, 2011 at 3:03PM

Vikings offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave admitted Friday night that he would like to add a veteran quarterback to the mix when NFL teams are again able to pursue players on the open market.

This came a day after Minnesota took Florida State's Christian Ponder in the first round of the NFL draft.

So who will the Vikings pursue?

Well, Jason La Canfora of the NFL Network reports that league sources have informed him it's a high probability the Vikings will acquire Donovan McNabb, either in a trade with Washington or as a free agent.

There were numerous reports the Vikings were going to try to get McNabb earlier this month, but it seemed likely they might go with a more short-term solution once they invested so heavily in Ponder. Ponder is going to need to learn plenty but that doesn't mean he needs to be buried on the bench behind a veteran. (See Rodgers, Aaron.)

The only reason I can think of why the Vikings would take on the 34-year-old McNabb is because it has been made clear to them he is willing to step aside the minute they think Ponder is ready. Perhaps McNabb believes he can come to Minnesota after a poor year in Washington, get a one-year deal and impress a few other teams that then will be willing to pay him in 2012.

Honestly, the move doesn't make much sense to me, in part, because I'm not sure McNabb sees himself as a mentor-type and that's what Ponder needs.

However, the Vikings and I might not be in agreement about where this team is at. There are some who think the window that opened in 2009 remains open a crack and that success isn't that far away. I'm more of the mindset that the window is closed and there are some serious issues that need to be addressed before anyone gets too excited.

No matter how you want to paint it, owner Zygi Wilf long ago made it clear he wanted his franchise to be a consistent winner and not one that took the roller-coaster route. The 2009 and 2010 Vikings proved that attempting to get by with another veteran quarterback isn't the way to make Wilf's vision come to fruition.

about the writer

judd zulgad