But he says he wants to stay in Washington
He called the move disrespectful. He said it was demeaning to now be the No. 3 quarterback. He said he knows where the media leaks originate.
And yet, Donovan McNabb also said something else more surprising: He wants to stay in Washington.
“I don’t want to go anywhere,” McNabb said during his weekly paid radio appearance on ESPN 980. “I don’t believe in starting something and not finishing it.”
Whether or not that sentiment is genuine, there’s little doubt that his other comments were real. Speaking about his benching publicly for the first time, McNabb said he was angry over last week’s decision to bench him.
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What bothered him most, he said, was finding out late in the week. Normally, he said, a move like that would be made on a Monday or Tuesday. Coach Mike Shanahan said last week that he waited to announce it until Friday to prevent a circus-like atmosphere.
“Everything was handled awkwardly, somewhat to a disrespect to me and to the team,” he said. “You could have told me earlier or at least prepared me for it.”
And the fact that he’ll be the No. 3 QB for the next two weeks is demeaning, he said.
“Yeah, I don’t think too many guys go from a one to a three,” McNabb said. “That’s an unfortunate situation where I’m one of the few to be part of. ”
McNabb said he was told of a possible demotion in a meeting with coach Mike Shanahan last Thursday night. He said he doesn’t know if the move was actually decided upon long before that point. But yes, he did hear the rumors about a possible benching.
“I don’t know if it was made then or weeks before,” he said. “I’m just going off the communication that I had … Obviously when someone has heard something they obviously heard it from someone close to a source or THE source.”
McNabb said he has not spoken with owner Dan Snyder or general manager Bruce Allen about the move. Nor does he say Shanahan should apologize for how it unfolded.
“I’m not looking for an apology,” McNabb said.
He also said he learned some of his information through various media reports.
“Everything afterwards for me, from there’s no guarantee he’ll be here to everything else is like, ‘Wow, I’m hearing everything through the media,’?” McNabb said.
And he said he’s pinpointed the leaks, though he’s keeping the culprit to himself.
“I’ve heard where it’s come from,” he said. “I’ve heard their thoughts and so believe me I know where some of this stuff is coming from.”
Much has been made, too, of offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s relationship with current starter Rex Grossman, who played for him last year in Houston. But McNabb said he felt he had a solid relationship with Kyle Shanahan, too.
“I thought we had a pretty decent relationship, one that was growing and I still feel somewhat that way,” he said.
The Redskins acquired McNabb in April for a second-round pick in 2010 and a fourth-rounder in 2011. They signed him to an extension in early November. But if they release him before next season, they will only have to pay him $3.5 million.
The benching indicates his time here is done.
“You really can’t judge if someone is good for your offense off of just one season,” he said. “To make an evaluation so early says there’s a little bit more into it.”
