The early reaction to Mike Shanahan's decision to bench Donovan McNabb in favor of Rex Grossman was overwhelmingly negative, as Redskins fans grew tired of dealing with yet another quarterback controversy. But there may be a silver lining in the decision, at least as far as the future is concerned. If you're worried about committing so much money long-term to an aging quarterback like McNabb, this might be a good thing.
Chris Mottram of Mister Irrelevant spells out this argument very well.
Whether the Redskins offense is better right now with Grossman or McNabb running it doesn't matter for us, as fans. Because we shouldn't care about how many meaningless wins the Skins can put together over the last three weeks. What matters is next season. And the one after that. If we want the future to look better than this abortion of a season, then it can't include Donovan McNabb. He's proven himself to be a shell of the star this team played against in Philly. He's old, completely mediocre, and owed too much money if he stays. This isn't a team that can win now. This is a team that needs to rebuild. McNabb can't be part of that process.
It's certainly true that the Redskins aren't committed to McNabb now, as Mottram writes. On some level, it's nice to know that for sure as a fan. But still, it seems like it's not worth annoying so many of your players right now when many of them may still be back next season. I see no reason why the Redskins couldn't just play McNabb for the last three games and cut bait after the season.
But still, it's a good point. Maybe the present of the Redskins stinks, but the future might indeed be just a little bit brighter.