The Philadelphia Eagles and their fans have certainly came around on the quarterback that was booed when the team selected him with the second overall selection in the 1999 draft. No longer booing him, the Eagles plan to recognize McNabb as one of their greatest ever players, retiring his jersey during a ceremony on September 19.
Team owner Jeffrey Lurie made the announcement Monday following McNabb making his retirement from the league official after announcing his decision over the weekend.
During his announcement, the man who’s number five jersey will become the eighth to be retired by the Eagles thanked his teammates for “11 great years,” McNabb also told former coach Andy Reid “we made history, big fella.”
The seven other players with their jersey retired by the Eagles are Steve Van Buren, Brian Dawkins, Jerome Brown, Reggie White, Al Wistert, Pete Retzlaff, and Tom Brookshire.
Over his career, McNabb played 13 seasons, the first 11 of which were with the Eagles. He also played a year for the Washington Redskins and one for the Minnesota Vikings.
He finishes his career with 37,276 yards passing and 234 touchdown passed. He also ran for 3,459 yard and 54 touchdowns. All but 18 of touchdown passes were with the Eagles. He only scored one rushing touchdown after leaving the team.
Although he never won a championship with the team, he did lead the Eagles to the NFC Championship game five times, winning just one. They lost that Super Bowl in 2005, but McNabb remains the best quarterback in franchise history.
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