The news out of Washington DC is telling us that Donovan McNabb is being benched for this weeks game against the Dallas Cowboys in favor of the usually less than spectacular Rex Grossman.

On Thursday, first year Washington coach Mike Shanahan informed McNabb–a former Pro Bowl quarterback– that he would not be starting the final 3 games of the season. Shanahan went on to tell McNabb that he is not even sure if he will be a member of the Redskins next season, which of course comes as a shock to us all considering the ‘Skins signed McNabb to a 5 year $78 million dollar contract extension last month.

Or is it that shocking? Many fans and readers have overlooked–or were unaware of–the fact that the Washington brass included a clause in the contract that says if McNabb is released before next season that the team will not have to pay McNabb a dime of the $78 million that was a sticking point for McNabb.

Now, before Jemele Hill turns this into a race issue, let’s take a look at the facts.

• McNabb is having his absolute worst season since his rookie campaign in 1999. So far this season McNabb has thrown 15 interceptions, on the way to lodging an anaemic quarterback rating of 77.1.
• This is the first time McNabb has played on a team with a losing record since 2005–and that season he missed the final seven games of the season due to injury.
• McNabb has struggled to grasp the offense put in place by offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, son of the head coach.

Those all sound like legit reasons to consider benching a quarterback. If I were the head coach, I would consider making the same move, but only after considering this:

• The Redskins running game has been about as reliable as Mark Prior‘s pitching arm. The Redskins are 26th in the league in rushing, due largely to the fact that no one  in the backfield can stay healthy, and Clinton Portis was past his prime 3 years ago.
• Other than tight end Chris Cooley, McNabb has NO reliable target at the wide receiver spot (Santana Moss is NOT a #1 receiver in the NFL, you can ask anyone), yet he has managed pass for enough yards to rank 10th in the league with 3137.
• The Redskins offensive line has allowed McNabb to be sacked 38 times…which is more than the veteran is used to being tossed around.

The deck has certainly been stacked against McNabb all season, so a change to Grossman at this point does not seem to make much sense. I would be willing to bet that whatever happens to McNabb after this season, he will end up with a better 2011 than Grossman does. I will bet my years salary on that.

Grossman is no star, but McNabb is (was). McNabb always finds a way to win. The Redskins–at 5-8 in an extremely touch NFC East, are a team that is rebuilding. Stability is key in a time like this. If you had an Andrew Luck or Jake Locker quarterback of the future on your roster behind McNabb, I could see making a change, but at this point, with Grossman, I can’t help but ask why?