Donovan McNabb’s arrival in Minnesota has been a rumored scenario for at least five years, ever since Brad Childress left the Philadelphia Eagles to take over the Vikings in 2006.

Childress is long gone now, but another former Eagles assistant — new Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier — helped make those rumors a reality on Wednesday, just in time for McNabb to help bridge the gap from Brett Favre to rookie Christian Ponder.

The Vikings acquired McNabb, the former Syracuse University star, from Washington for a sixth-round draft pick in 2012 and a conditional sixth-rounder in 2013, two people with knowledge of the transaction told The Associated Press. They requested anonymity because McNabb has yet to officially sign his restructured contract.

In order to make the deal happen, McNabb had to agree to restructure the five-year, $78 million deal he signed with the Redskins because the Vikings don’t have enough cap room to fit him in with the way the deal is structured. The terms of his new deal were not immediately available.

McNabb gives the Vikings a veteran quarterback while they groom Ponder, who was drafted 12th overall out of Florida State in April, to be the team’s long-term answer at the position. The original preference for Frazier and the Vikings was to have Ponder start Week 1 in San Diego, with a capable veteran backup there just in case.

That was before the NFL lockout prevented players from working out with coaches all summer and put Ponder behind schedule in his development. That made it more important for the Vikings to add an accomplished, experienced quarterback they think can win games with a roster full of veterans while Ponder gets up to speed.

From the sounds of it, Ponder isn’t conceding anything just yet.