Does the interest in Rosensfels mean no McNabb?


Since the rumors of Donovan McNabb heading to Oakland started making their way around the blogosphere, I've maintained that McNabb will not become a Raider.

But no matter how much evidence is piled in front of people, everyone still seems to believe that McNabb will be continuing his career in Oakland. Apparently these are the same people who didn't learn from being mislead by a clearly-made-up rumor that had McNabb heading to St. Louis.

So here's something else for everyone to ignore: the Raiders, according to Michael Lombardi, are currently in talks with the Minnesota Vikings to acquire quarterback Sage Rosenfels.

Rosenfels was acquired by the Vikings last offseason from the Houston Texans for a fourth-round pick. They immediately signed him to a three-year, $9 million contract with the intention of letting him battle with Tarvaris Jackson for the starting spot.

But once Brett Favre decided he wanted to come back to the NFL, that was thrown out the door and Rosenfels spent most of 2009 as the teams emergency third quarterback.

Now, with Favre likely to return in 2010, Rosenfels looks to once again find a place on the bench and collect $3 million from the Vikings for absolutely nothing. It's not a bad gig, but the Vikings would probably like to dump his contract, get something for him, and move on with Favre.

The Raiders, on the other hand, clearly aren't happy with the way JaMarcus Russell showed up to camp (evidently an impressive 290 pounds), and don't believe Bruce Gradkowski is the answer. So instead of staying the course, they're looking to acquire a veteran to run the offense, at least for a year or two.

But if McNabb is already on his way to Oakland as most are saying, then why would the Raiders be attempting to trade for Rosenfels? They would bring him in to compete for the starting spot, and if they really thought they were going to land McNabb, they wouldn't even bother pursuing Rosenfels.

What this tells me is that the Raiders, if they have even made an offer, haven't offered nearly enough and Reid has squashed the talks until they come with a first-round pick -- or a player equivalent.

It might not directly involve the Eagles and McNabb, but it certainly shows that the Raiders, at least for the moment, do not believe they will be able to get McNabb in black and silver.