PHILADELPHIA, July 29 (UPI) -- The Philadelphia Eagles had a news conference Monday to official retire former quarterback Donovan McNabb's No. 5 jersey.
The press conference at the NovaCare Complex was kicked off by team owner Jeffrey Lurie, who called McNabb "one of the greatest players in the history of the Eagles and certainly the greatest quarterback in the history of the Eagles," The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Monday.
Friends and former teammates took the podium to praise McNabb before the former quarterback himself took the stand.
"I'm not one for emotion, but it's pretty tough," he admitted. "I want to thank Jeffrey Lurie and the Eagles organization for this unbelievable honor. To be mentioned with the likes of [all the Eagles' retired numbers] who've paved the way for me and my former teammates and all the current players."
That's high praise considering the franchise's history includes such quarterbacks as Norm Van Brocklin and Sonny Jurgensen.
McNabb was named to the Pro Bowl six times in his 13-year NFL career with Philadelphia, Washington and Minnesota. He led the Eagles to the NFC title in 2004 when he was the conference's player of the year.
McNabb, 36, finished with 37,276 passing yards with 234 passing touchdowns. He added another 3,459 rushing yards and 29 rushing scores.
