As we've mentioned before, Donovan McNabb's new contract with the Washington Redskins contains an out clause that allows the Redskins to release him after this season and only pay him $3.75 million in guaranteed money. It does not appear like the Redskins will use that clause, not after surrendering multiple draft picks to acquire McNAbb.
However, it's worth noting that coach Mike Shanahan did not seem like he was committing to McNabb long-term. As CSN Washington's Rich Tandler notes, Shanahan's statements this week don't inspire much confidence.
Here's what Shanahan said at first:
"Hopefully very confident and hopefully we get better as an offense. We did some good things today. We had big plays. We have got to sustain drives. We had 200 yards, I believe, in the first half and four first downs. We got to get more consistent. We show signs of getting better, but we were 0-for-10 in third downs today, 1-for-1 in fourth downs. You can't win football games when you are 0-10 in third downs."
And then here's what Shanahan said in his press conference on Wednesday:
"Take a look at my contract, I got a five year contract and I am sure hoping that I am here in five years. I think anytime you sign a contract you are always hoping that you fulfill that contract. You don't sign contracts thinking that the person won't be here."
Now, we may be looking too much into this. Shanahan is notorious for saying nothing meaningful either way in his press conference. But it's interesting to see that Shanahan is "hoping" that McNabb sticks around beyond this season. That may be one way for Shanahan to affirm to McNabb that he is on notice.