Has QB Donovan McNabb played his last game in the NFL?

Last week, the Minnesota Vikings decided that with a record of 1-5, they needed to take a look toward the future and named rookie QB Christian Ponder as the starting quarterback for likely the remainder of the season. I thought that McNabb’s season with the Washington Redskins was a blip on the radar, but after watching him play this season, you have to wonder if Donovan McNabb will ever play a NFL regular season game again.

McNabb has been the focus of more scrutiny than most most quarterbacks. He spent the bulk of his playing career in one of the toughest sports towns in the country, Philadelphia. Two seasons ago, minutes after McNabb was traded to the Redskins, Eagles fans were singing the praises of Kevin Kolb. After the first half of the first game of the 2010 season, Eagles fans were embracing Michael Vick and wanting to run Kevin Kolb out of town.

McNabb has had a very rough landing under center after his departure form the Philadelphia Eagles. Donovan set career lows last season in touchdown passes and passer rating. He has now been benched twice in two seasons and after throwing only four touchdowns in six games, you have to wonder about his future in the NFL.

The 13-year veteran will likely be released by the Vikings at the end of the season and after two years of sub-par play on the field and the fact that he’ll be turning 35 in 27 days, his days as a starting quarterback might finally be over. McNabb only posted one career season with over 30 touchdown passes and one season with a passer rating over 100, 2004.

Barring an injury to rookie QB Christian Ponder, I doubt that McNabb will see the field again this season. Heading into 2012, three teams are in serious need of a quarterback next year, and one is a former team of McNabb’s, Washington. The other two teams, Seattle and Miami will likely draft a quarterback in April. I see no scenario other than what McNabb finds himself in currently in Minnesota for him next season. A team bringing him in to start 5-6 games before giving way to a rookie quarterback.

And I have to wonder if McNabb is going to be up for the same setup next season. The veteran signal caller has only played a full slate of 16 games once in the last eight seasons. As I mentioned earlier, I thought last season was a blip on McNabb’s radar, but he has struggled mightily this season. He has been benched twice now in two seasons because of a diminished skill set. It’s time to simply walk away from the game and into the booth with the microphone which is awaiting McNabb.