When Athletes Play General Manager

When last I checked, Brett Favre’s job description with the Green Bay Packers did not include the words “general manager.” And unless there is a hidden contract provision in Donovan McNabb’s deal, he has no say-so in player personnel matters. But that didn’t stop either of them from openly questioning their team’s moves following the draft.

Favre, quoted in the Biloxi (Miss.) Sun-Herald, said that Randy Moss “was going to wipe his contract clean and sign for $3 million guaranteed…” The fact that Favre made this statement publicly should be further proof that concussions are a much larger problem in the NFL than we suspect, because this statement is just plain stupid.

In fact, Randy Moss was not going to wipe his contract clean, because had the Raiders not been able to swing a trade for the perpetually disgruntled receiver, they would have cut him before taking the cap hit for his enormous salary and shrinking production. Further, any potential trading partner wasn’t going to pay Moss the remaining $9 million on that deal either. If Moss wanted any money at all, he was going to “restructure” his current deal (read: take whatever he could get). That’s the reality of non-guaranteed contracts in the NFL: just because the money is on paper does not mean it’s in the bank.

But Favre would know that if he were a general manager, and not just a pop-up target behind a porous Green Bay offending, er, offensive line.

And in McNabb’s case, one wonders why he would ever claim to be shocked about the team drafting a quarterback, the position he occasionally plays when something isn’t broken. Three times in the past five seasons, McNabb has been injured and unable to finish the season, most recently with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his right knee that likely needs 12 months to heal…which makes one wonder about his availability for 2007, especially considering how quickly Daunte Culpepper has bounced back from a similar problem.

On top of that, McNabb turned 30 last season. So, let’s see: the franchise QB is fragile and getting old. Nope, I can’t see why the Eagles took a flyer on a signal caller in the second round either...

Quite frankly, both men sound like the guy on the next bar stool, except that they are supposed to be better informed. The New England Patriots are admittedly taking a risk on Randy Moss, a man that Sports Illustrated writer and Hall of Fame voter Paul Zimmerman unabashedly calls a “dog” for his penchant for taking plays off. Given Moss’ somnambulism of the past three seasons, and given that Moss’ addition wouldn’t help the league’s 26th ranked defense, the Packers can be excused for not picking him up.

The Eagles are not forgetting McNabb’s brilliant play on the field, but they also are more rightly concerned with the future of their franchise. Drafting a quarterback was eventually going to happen anyway, and doing so now is actually very smart because the kid doesn’t have to play right away…or, at least that’s the hope. If McNabb returns to his Pro Bowl form, the Eagles have the luxury of grooming the new guy until McNabb’s retirement. Considering his recent bout with injury, it sez so right here that McNabb’s career will not be as long as Vinnie Testaverde’s.

Meanwhile, both Favre and McNabb simply need to play football and leave the personnel decisions to the adults.