Donovan McNabb's Status Uncertain For Opener

Donovan McNabb has only played the full slate of 16 games four times in his 11 seasons in the NFL and only once in the last seven years, so hearing that he’s already likely to miss time with the Redskins shouldn’t come as the biggest shock ever. Nevertheless, it has to be a disappointment whichever fantasy owners who ended up with him as their starter.

Asked on Sunday for an update on the status of the sprained ankle McNabb suffered in the Redskins second preseason game, head coach Mike Shanahan said, “I really don’t know for sure. That’s why it’s day by day. We’ll see how it goes.”

While that obviously doesn’t rule him out, at this point there’s a decent chance that McNabb could miss the opener against Dallas. Even if he plays, it may not be the best scenario to make a first appearance in a month. Remember that McNabb ended his career with the Eagles with subpar performances in consecutive weeks against the Cowboys. Each time, the Cowboys exploited poor Eagles pass blocking to sack McNabb four times. The Redskins offensive line isn’t likely to provide much better protection. So unless McNabb’s ankle makes a complete recovery between now and Week 1, he isn’t going to be the best option at QB come Sept. 12.