Donovan McNabb facts for kids
McNabb in 2010
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| No. 5 | |||||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
| Born: | November 25, 1976 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 240 lb (109 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||
| High school: | Mount Carmel (Chicago, Illinois) |
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| College: | Syracuse (1994–1998) | ||||||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1999 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||
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Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976) is a former American football quarterback. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, mostly with the Philadelphia Eagles. McNabb played college football for the Syracuse Orange before being picked second overall in the 1999 NFL draft by the Eagles. He spent 11 seasons with them. He also played one year each for the Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings. The Eagles honored McNabb by retiring his number 5 jersey when he was inducted into the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame in 2013.
As the Eagles' starting quarterback from 1999 to 2009, McNabb led his team to many successes. This included eight playoff appearances and five division titles. He also led them to five NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl XXXIX. McNabb is seen as one of the best quarterbacks in Eagles history. He was known for his "dual-threat" skills, meaning he was great at both passing and running the ball. He was one of only a few quarterbacks to gain over 30,000 passing yards, 200 touchdown passes, 3,000 rushing yards, and 20 rushing touchdowns in his career.
Contents
Donovan McNabb's Football Journey
Donovan McNabb had an impressive career, starting from his high school days and becoming a star in the NFL. He achieved many records and honors, showing his skill and leadership on the field.
Early Life and College Years
Donovan McNabb grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He showed his athletic talent from a young age.
High School Days
McNabb went to Mount Carmel High School. As a sophomore, he played with future NFL players Simeon Rice and Matt Cushing. They helped Mount Carmel win the 1991 State Championship. In his senior year (1993), he led his team to a Chicago Prep Bowl championship. He was also good at track and field and played basketball with Antoine Walker.
College Highlights
Many colleges wanted McNabb, but only Syracuse University and the University of Nebraska offered him scholarships to play quarterback. He chose Syracuse because he wanted to prove he could be a strong "pocket passer" (a quarterback who mostly stays in the pocket to throw). He also liked their broadcasting journalism program.
After his first year (1994), McNabb started every game for Syracuse, winning 35 games and losing 14. As a freshman, he threw the longest touchdown pass in Syracuse history (96 yards). He was named the Big East Conference's Rookie of the Year. In his junior year, he set a school record with 2,892 total yards. As a senior, he led Syracuse to the Orange Bowl and tied a school record with 22 touchdown passes. He also played basketball for Syracuse for two seasons, even reaching the National Championship game in 1996.
McNabb was named the Big East's offensive player of the decade for the 1990s. He won Big East Offensive Player of the Year three times (1996–1998). He was also a finalist for the Heisman Trophy in 1998.
Becoming an NFL Star
Donovan McNabb was a highly anticipated player in the 1999 NFL Draft. He quickly became a key player for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Drafted by the Eagles
In the 1999 NFL draft, the Eagles picked McNabb as the second overall player. Some Eagles fans at the draft booed the pick because they wanted a different player. However, McNabb proved them wrong. He was one of five quarterbacks chosen early in that draft, but only he and Daunte Culpepper went on to have very successful NFL careers.
McNabb first played in an NFL regular-season game on September 19, 1999. He made his first start on November 14, leading the Eagles to a 35–28 win. He was the first Eagles rookie quarterback to win his first NFL start since 1974. He threw his first touchdown pass on November 21, 1999.
Leading the Eagles to Success
In his first full season as a starter in 2000, McNabb was a top player in the league. He led the Eagles to their first playoff appearance since 1996. He was chosen for the Pro Bowl in 2000, which is a game featuring the best players from each conference. He also set new club records for most pass attempts and completions.
In 2001, McNabb led the Eagles to an 11–5 season and won their first NFC East title in 13 years. They reached the NFC Championship game, losing to the St. Louis Rams. McNabb signed a big contract with the Eagles, showing how important he was to the team.
In 2002, McNabb started strong, earning NFC Offensive Player of the Month. However, he broke his fibula (a bone in his lower leg) in Week 11. He returned for the playoffs, but the Eagles lost in the NFC Championship game. After this injury, McNabb ran less, but his passing game improved even more.
In 2003, McNabb again led the Eagles to the NFC Championship game. A famous moment was his "4th and 26" pass to Freddie Mitchell against the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs, which helped tie the game. Despite his efforts, the Eagles lost the championship game.
Key Moments with the Eagles
McNabb's time with the Eagles included a memorable Super Bowl appearance and several seasons battling injuries.
Super Bowl Appearance
The 2004 season was one of McNabb's best. He had amazing statistics, throwing 31 touchdown passes and only eight interceptions. He became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw over 30 touchdowns and fewer than 10 interceptions in a season. This was helped by the arrival of star receiver Terrell Owens. The Eagles had their best 16-game season ever, with a 13–3 record.
McNabb's best game that year was against the Green Bay Packers, where he threw for an Eagles' record 464 yards and five touchdowns in the first half. In the playoffs, he led the Eagles to their second Super Bowl ever, beating the Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons.
McNabb led his team against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. He became only the third African-American quarterback to start in a Super Bowl. The Eagles lost 24–21, but McNabb still had a great game, completing 30 passes for 357 yards and three touchdowns.
Later Career and Injuries
The 2005 season was tough for McNabb. He started strong but then suffered a sports hernia and a sore thumb, ending his season early. He still put up good numbers, throwing for 2,507 yards and 16 touchdowns in nine games.
In the 2006 season, McNabb tore a ligament in his right knee, ending his season for the third time in five years. This raised questions about his return for the next season. However, he worked hard and returned to play in 2007, even though he wasn't fully recovered. In a game against the Detroit Lions, he had a perfect passer rating (158.3), which is very rare.
In 2008, McNabb set a career high with 3,916 passing yards. He also became the Eagles' all-time touchdown-pass leader. In a game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the game ended in a tie, which McNabb later said he didn't know was possible in the NFL regular season. Despite some ups and downs, McNabb helped the Eagles reach the playoffs for the seventh time in his nine seasons as a starter. They made it to the NFC Championship game but lost.
In 2009, the Eagles added new receivers like Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson, who helped McNabb's offense. McNabb reached 200 career touchdowns and 30,000 career passing yards. The Eagles made the playoffs again, but lost in the first round. McNabb earned his last Pro Bowl selection that year.
Moving to Other Teams
After his long career with the Eagles, McNabb played for two other NFL teams.
Time with Washington and Minnesota
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In April 2010, the Eagles traded McNabb to the Washington Redskins. In his first game against his old team, the Eagles, McNabb received a standing ovation from the fans in Philadelphia. He led the Redskins to a victory against the Green Bay Packers in overtime. However, his time with the Redskins was short, and he was eventually moved to a third-string quarterback role.
In July 2011, McNabb was traded to the Minnesota Vikings. He started the 2011 season as their quarterback, but after a 1–5 record, the starting job was given to rookie Christian Ponder. McNabb asked to be released from the team in December 2011, and his request was granted.
On July 29, 2013, Donovan McNabb officially retired from professional football as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, bringing his successful career to an end.
Life After Football
After retiring from playing, Donovan McNabb moved into broadcasting and also focused on his family and charity work.
Retirement and Broadcasting
In September 2012, McNabb joined the NFL Network as an analyst, sharing his football knowledge. He later worked for Fox Sports 1 and provided commentary for Fox games. He also joined ESPN Radio as an analyst.
Family and Charity Work
McNabb is married to Raquel Ann Sarah "Roxie" Nurse, and they have four children: Alexis, twins Sariah and Donovan Jr., and Devin James. The family lives in both New Jersey and Arizona.
McNabb has a degree in speech communication from Syracuse University and was even on the university's board of trustees. He is also involved in his family's athletic legacy; his brother-in-law was a CFL player, and his nieces and nephew are successful ice hockey and basketball players.
McNabb has been very active in charity work. In 2000, he started the Donovan McNabb Fund to raise awareness about diabetes. In 2009, he donated $2.5 million to help build a new neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at a hospital in New Jersey, where his children were born. His wife also co-founded the Caris Sports Foundation in 2019, which helps young people from disadvantaged backgrounds play sports. In 2021, McNabb co-founded The QB Legacy (QBL), a group that mentors and coaches young quarterbacks, teaching them about leadership, resilience, and financial literacy.
NFL Career Statistics
Donovan McNabb's career statistics show his consistent performance and impact on the field.
Regular Season
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | Sacks | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | Y/G | Lng | TD | Int | TD% | Int% | Rtg | Att | Yds | Y/A | TD | Sck | Yds | Fum | Lost | ||
| 1999 | PHI | 12 | 6 | 2–4 | 106 | 216 | 49.1 | 948 | 4.9 | 79.0 | 63 | 8 | 7 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 60.1 | 47 | 313 | 6.7 | 0 | 28 | 204 | 8 | 2 |
| 2000 | PHI | 16 | 16 | 11–5 | 330 | 569 | 58.0 | 3,365 | 5.9 | 210.3 | 70 | 21 | 13 | 3.7 | 2.3 | 77.8 | 86 | 629 | 7.3 | 6 | 45 | 262 | 7 | 2 |
| 2001 | PHI | 16 | 16 | 11–5 | 285 | 493 | 57.8 | 3,233 | 6.6 | 202.1 | 64 | 25 | 12 | 5.1 | 2.4 | 84.3 | 82 | 482 | 5.9 | 2 | 39 | 273 | 8 | 0 |
| 2002 | PHI | 10 | 10 | 7–3 | 211 | 361 | 58.4 | 2,289 | 6.3 | 228.9 | 59 | 17 | 6 | 4.7 | 1.7 | 86.0 | 63 | 460 | 7.3 | 6 | 28 | 166 | 6 | 0 |
| 2003 | PHI | 16 | 16 | 12–4 | 275 | 478 | 57.5 | 3,216 | 6.7 | 201.0 | 59 | 16 | 11 | 3.3 | 2.3 | 79.6 | 71 | 355 | 5.0 | 3 | 43 | 253 | 9 | 3 |
| 2004 | PHI | 15 | 15 | 13–2 | 300 | 469 | 64.0 | 3,875 | 8.3 | 258.3 | 80 | 31 | 8 | 6.6 | 1.7 | 104.7 | 41 | 220 | 5.4 | 3 | 32 | 192 | 8 | 6 |
| 2005 | PHI | 9 | 9 | 4–5 | 211 | 357 | 59.1 | 2,507 | 7.0 | 278.6 | 91 | 16 | 9 | 4.5 | 2.5 | 85.0 | 25 | 55 | 2.2 | 1 | 19 | 112 | 8 | 3 |
| 2006 | PHI | 10 | 10 | 5–5 | 180 | 316 | 57.0 | 2,647 | 8.4 | 264.7 | 87 | 18 | 6 | 5.7 | 1.9 | 95.5 | 32 | 212 | 6.6 | 3 | 21 | 140 | 3 | 2 |
| 2007 | PHI | 14 | 14 | 8–6 | 291 | 473 | 61.5 | 3,324 | 7.0 | 237.4 | 75 | 19 | 7 | 4.0 | 1.5 | 89.9 | 50 | 236 | 4.7 | 0 | 44 | 227 | 9 | 5 |
| 2008 | PHI | 16 | 16 | 9–6–1 | 345 | 571 | 60.4 | 3,916 | 6.9 | 244.8 | 90 | 23 | 11 | 4.0 | 1.9 | 86.4 | 39 | 147 | 3.8 | 2 | 23 | 149 | 7 | 5 |
| 2009 | PHI | 14 | 14 | 10–4 | 267 | 443 | 60.3 | 3,553 | 8.0 | 253.8 | 60 | 22 | 10 | 5.0 | 2.3 | 92.9 | 37 | 140 | 3.8 | 2 | 35 | 264 | 10 | 3 |
| 2010 | WAS | 13 | 13 | 5–8 | 253 | 437 | 57.9 | 3,377 | 7.2 | 259.8 | 76 | 14 | 15 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 77.1 | 29 | 151 | 5.2 | 0 | 37 | 271 | 10 | 1 |
| 2011 | MIN | 6 | 6 | 1–5 | 94 | 156 | 60.3 | 1,026 | 6.6 | 171.0 | 60 | 4 | 2 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 82.9 | 14 | 59 | 4.2 | 1 | 16 | 113 | 2 | 0 |
| Career | 167 | 161 | 98−62−1 | 3,170 | 5,374 | 59.0 | 37,276 | 6.9 | 223.2 | 91 | 234 | 117 | 4.4 | 2.2 | 85.6 | 616 | 3,459 | 5.6 | 29 | 410 | 2626 | 95 | 30 | |
Postseason
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | Sacks | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | Y/G | Lng | TD | Int | TD% | Int% | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Sck | Yds | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2000 | PHI | 2 | 2 | 1–1 | 44 | 74 | 59.5 | 342 | 4.6 | 171.0 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 4.1 | 2.7 | 73.1 | 13 | 49 | 3.8 | 1 | 8 | 51 | 2 | 1 |
| 2001 | PHI | 3 | 3 | 2–1 | 60 | 95 | 63.2 | 627 | 6.6 | 209.0 | 43 | 5 | 3 | 5.3 | 3.2 | 86.6 | 16 | 120 | 7.5 | 2 | 8 | 46 | 2 | 1 |
| 2002 | PHI | 2 | 2 | 1–1 | 46 | 79 | 58.2 | 490 | 6.2 | 245.0 | 42 | 1 | 1 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 75.4 | 7 | 41 | 5.9 | 0 | 4 | 31 | 3 | 2 |
| 2003 | PHI | 2 | 2 | 1–1 | 31 | 61 | 50.8 | 348 | 5.7 | 174.0 | 45 | 2 | 3 | 3.3 | 4.9 | 58.6 | 13 | 117 | 9.0 | 0 | 12 | 77 | 2 | 1 |
| 2004 | PHI | 3 | 3 | 2–1 | 68 | 110 | 61.8 | 823 | 7.5 | 274.3 | 52 | 7 | 3 | 6.4 | 2.7 | 94.6 | 14 | 35 | 2.5 | 0 | 7 | 46 | 2 | 0 |
| 2006 | PHI | Did not play due to injury | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | PHI | 3 | 3 | 2–1 | 73 | 121 | 60.3 | 892 | 7.4 | 297.3 | 71 | 5 | 4 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 83.1 | 7 | 47 | 6.7 | 1 | 5 | 35 | 2 | 2 |
| 2009 | PHI | 1 | 1 | 0–1 | 19 | 37 | 51.4 | 230 | 6.2 | 230.0 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 68.5 | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 0 | 4 | 22 | 1 | 1 |
| Career | 16 | 16 | 9–7 | 341 | 577 | 59.1 | 3,752 | 6.5 | 234.5 | 71 | 24 | 17 | 4.2 | 2.9 | 80.0 | 72 | 422 | 5.9 | 4 | 48 | 308 | 14 | 8 | |
Records and Awards
Donovan McNabb holds many impressive records and has received numerous awards throughout his career.
NFL Records and Firsts
- Career, most postseason wins by a quarterback whose teams did not win the Super Bowl: 9 (tied with Jim Kelly)
- Single season, most 40+ yard completions: 20
- Single game, most times sacked: 12 (tied with two others)
- Single game, highest passer rating: 158.3 (tied with many)
He was the first quarterback with:
- More than 30 passing touchdowns and less than 10 interceptions in a season.
- More than 100 yards rushing in a postseason game.
- More than 200 yards passing and more than 100 yards rushing in a postseason game.
- More than 450 yards passing, 5 TDs, 0 INTs, and more than 70% completion percentage in a single game.
Philadelphia Eagles Franchise Records
Career
- Passing yards: 32,873
- Total offense yards (passing + rushing – sacks): 33,880
- Passing TDs: 216
- Total TDs: 244
- Completions: 2,801
- Attempts: 4,746
- Games played at quarterback: 148
- Wins: 92
- Pro Bowls by quarterback: 6
- Consecutive Pro Bowls by quarterback: 5
Postseason
- Career passing yards: 3,752
- Career total offense yards: 3,866
- Career passing TDs: 24
- Career total TDs: 28
- Wins: 9
- Conference championship appearances: 5
- Consecutive conference championship appearances: 4
- Single game, most rushing yards by quarterback: 107
Awards and Honors
NFL
- 6× Pro Bowl selection (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009)
- 4× NFC Offensive Player of the Month
- Philadelphia Eagles No. 5 retired
- Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame
- Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
NCAA (College)
- Big East Offensive Player of the Decade (1990s)
- 3× Big East Offensive Player of the Year (1996–1998)
- Big East Rookie of the Year (1995)
- Syracuse Football All-Century Team
- Syracuse Orange No. 5 retired
Images for kids
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1995 Syracuse Orangemen football team.jpg
Syracuse Orangemen football team
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1996 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team.jpg
Syracuse Orangemen basketball team
