Owner calls McNabb Eagles' best ever QB

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Donovan McNabb was the greatest quarterback in Eagles history and will one day be welcomed back to Philadelphia as a legend, but the time was right to trade him away, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said Wednesday in his annual state-of-the-team news conference at Lehigh.

The 37-minute question-and-answer session focused largely on Michael Vick, one year and one birthday party controversy after his signing, but Lurie also discussed the McNabb trade, his support for an 18-game regular season and his "obsession" with finally winning a Super Bowl.

He called McNabb "the best quarterback I think the Eagles have ever had."

"Classy, terrific in every way. He did not win a Super Bowl, but the franchise over the last 10 years as you know, [won] five division championships, five appearances in the championship game in the NFC, Super Bowl, a very extraordinary decade by any measure except for the lack of a Super Bowl championship," Lurie said. "So, he's going to be back here at some point as a legend, as the greatest quarterback in the history of the team."

Still, Lurie said the organization believed it could get good value for McNabb based on his 2009 performance and would be in good hands with Kevin Kolb.

"This year, [McNabb] had a very good season, and we had to explore what the value was," Lurie said.

"It was the right time to let the young quarterback really thrive and with market value coming back," Lurie said.

He dismissed a question about being at all "queasy" about trading McNabb to an NFC East rival.

"They're getting a very good quarterback in Donovan. They're also giving us two good young players in that trade who should be with us hopefully for a long, long period of time, so I don't see it that way," Lurie said. "I'm happy that Donovan's in hopefully a good situation for him."

The "two young players" were a reference to the draft picks obtained from the Redskins. One, the 37th overall last April, was used for Nate Allen, who is expected to start at free safety this year. The other is a third-round pick in 2011.

In backing an 18-game regular season, Lurie echoed commissioner Roger Goodell's remarks a day earlier that the preseason needs fixing. Both implied that expanding the regular season is the answer.

"One of the things that I've realized, and it's been almost an embarrassment, is fans don't like the long preseason. The quality is not there," Lurie said. "I think that the fans have spoken, and they absolutely would rather see an 18-game regular season and a two-game preseason."

Regarding a new collective bargaining agreement, he said the players and NFL teams have had a strong business model, but that it is time for a new one.

"I'm very confident that in the end, whatever the timing is, we're going to have a better business model, a better model for the players and the teams and, therefore, investment in the sport which allows the fans to have the greatest sport in the country," Lurie said.

He did touch on the looming threat of a lockout.

"Nobody benefits from nonplaying of games, but nobody benefits from a model that's not ideal," he said.

He also hinted at implementing a rookie wage scale, paying more benefits to retired players and expansion abroad.

"This is a great sport. We can't just hold on to it for the U.S.," he said.

Lurie's talk ended with a question about his quest for a Super Bowl title. After all, he was speaking against a backdrop of Eagles logos celebrating the team's last championship, 50 years ago.

The team, he said, is, "very, very proud of the performance over the last decade. We have one remaining goal, and that's to win a championship and follow that with more. It's the sole goal. It's the sole obsession," Lurie said.

He added, "if we can get to the championship game five times in the next 10 years like we did the last 10, we're going to win some Super Bowls. So that's what I have to say."