Ex-Minnesota Vikings QB Donovan McNabb "thought Bears would call" - NFL News
The Chicago Bears 2011 National Football League (NFL) regular season took a turn for the worst after a year ending thumb injury to quarterback, Jay Cutler, as they went on to lose five games in a row and finish 8-8, along with missing out on the playoffs.
Former Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback, Donovan McNabb, in a radio interview, revealed that he thought the Bears would have called him up as a cover for Cutler after the injury, being a free agent at the time.
"I thought the Bears would call", McNabb said on
"The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "So many people continuously talked about the Mike Martz offense and things of that nature. I personally didn't care about that. If you want to win and win now, you go out and get a better quarterback and you cater
your offense to his strengths, and obviously the strengths of your team”.
The Bears however, decided to stay with replacement quarterback Caleb Hanie while bringing in veteran Josh McCown as backup.
Chicago also put in a waiver for the released Denver Broncos’ quarterback, Kyle Orton, but missed out on him when the Kansas City Chiefs claimed him.
With Orton not available, coach, Lovie Smith, decided to stick with Hanie, hoping that the backup quarterback could perform and lead the team to the playoffs.
That decision backfired spectacularly as the Bears went on to lose five games in a row since Cutler went out in week 11.
Hanie started the first four fixtures and his poor performances sealed the Bears fate as the quarterback passed for just three touchdowns and threw nine interceptions.
The Bears offence was further ravaged in week 13 when star running back, Matt Forte, tore his knee leaving the Bears without one of their biggest weapons.
McCown replaced Hanie for the final two games of the regular season and performed better ending 1-1 as the Bears snapped their losing streak with a 17-13 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
McNabb had asked for an early release from the Vikings when he heard that the Bears had lost their quarterback and the Chicago native believed that the call would come.
However, the 35-year old does not regret his decision.
"I got a chance to relax and rest my body, so I don't mind at this particular time what happened, but things could have been different".
McNabb was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999 as a first-round pick. After spending 11 years with the Eagles, he moved to Washington Red Skins in 2010.
His release from Washington led to a call from the Vikings where he spent half of the current season before being replaced with rookie quarterback, Christian Ponder, by coach, Leslie Frazier.
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