So Derrick Gunn's report last night on Comcast SportsNet would seem plausible - the report cited a league source saying talks aimed at a McNabb extension have been shelved to concentrate on reworking the 2 remaining years on the current deal. An extension is thorny for several reasons - the collective bargaining agreement is up; there might not be a salary cap in 2010; nobody knows what the next CBA will look like; and the Eagles have Kevin Kolb waiting in the wings, with a contract that expires in 2 years, just like McNabb's.
While the Eagles might not be ready to commit to McNabb at a huge figure beyond 2010, they certainly expect him to start (and, they hope, lead them to the Super Bowl) this season. If McNabb stays healthy and the offense is productive, there's no reason to think that won't be the case in 2010, as well.
Clearly, the contract McNabb signed in 2002 is outdated, even more than the deal disgruntled cornerback Sheldon Brown signed 2 years later. (And McNabb has half the time remaining on his deal that Brown does, since the rest of McNabb's reported 12-year deal voids if he is on the roster at the end of 2010.)
In 2002, the widespread assumption was that the Birds would have to do another deal with McNabb toward the end of the contract, because no team would want $10 million in annual cap charges, as the deal called for in 2009 and 2010. The 2002 salary cap was only $71 million. But the 2009 cap is $127 million, and the Birds can easily absorb McNabb's cap figure. They seem to have about $24 million in cap room.
