Don't let a simple little lockout and halt of all league operations except the draft keep you from speculating about the flirtations between the Vikings and Donovan McNabb.
In what would be Stage 1,234 of Old Guys Bridge the QB Gap in Minny, the Vikings reportedly are interested in the 34-year-old McNabb. That's according to the Washington Post. Frankly, if you can play quarterback and you're not named Tarvaris Jackson, the Vikings have interest in you. So it's not going out on a limb to say the Vikings are considering (fill in the blank).
In a perfect world, the Vikings would magically land their franchise quarterback with the 12th overall pick next week. He would start Week 1, succeed like Joe Flacco did in Year 1 and then develop into the next Tom Brady in time for Super Bowl XLVIII.
But the vibe that's being projected makes it clear that's not going to happen. So get used to it. It doesn't appear the Vikings will pick a QB at No. 12. The ones worth a No. 12 will be gone. The rest would be a reach, especially for a team with as many holes as the Vikings have.
That's not an entirely terrible scenario. Frankly, none of the QBs in this year's class excites me as first-round selections. And a quarterback in the second round isn't much to get excited about either (See: Jackson, T.).
With that in mind, beggars mustn't be choosers. So, like it or not, a guy like McNabb might be the best alternative.
Yes, he's coming off a poor season in his first year in Washington. Yes, he'd be coming into a new offense with little or no time to learn it. Yes, he's aging quickly. But he might be the only option to put alongside Adrian Peterson in his prime.
McNabb also figures to come cheaply. The Redskins have already shown their hand when it comes to McNabb. He's not in their future and there's no way they're going to keep him on their roster and have to pay him a $10 million bonus. So either you get him for a late-round draft pick or you convince him to come to Minnesota as a free agent. (You might also want to hope he overlooks the weekly beatings that Favre took last season.)
