"Brett Favre played in the NFL until he was 41 years old. Donovan McNabb said Sunday after reporting to training camp that he plans to exit before Favre did, but then made it clear that won't be anytime soon.

"I feel like I've got five more years left, five or six more years left," said McNabb, who will turn 35 on Nov. 25. "If that puts me at 40, so be it. The whole thing about it is playing at a high level, still competing at this game, and I still feel like I have gas [in the tank]."

If McNabb accomplishes this goal, his career isn't likely to end in Minnesota. The Vikings did not draft quarterback Christian Ponder with the 12th pick in the first round last April to put him on a five-year development plan.

Ponder realizes this but also understands McNabb's outlook.

"Obviously, I think anyone in this league is always trying to be here as long as they can," Ponder said. "Of course that's going to be his mentality. And he's good enough to do that.

"My attitude is I'm going to go out there and compete and try to win the starting job but at the same time try to soak as much information from a guy who has been to the Pro Bowl six times and has been to several NFC championships and a Super Bowl."

Ponder and many of his new teammates will be on the field for the first time Monday afternoon for a single practice that will open camp. McNabb, obtained in a trade from Washington last week, won't be eligible to begin practicing until Thursday, when the new collective bargaining agreement is expected to be ratified.

(The rule impacts veterans who received new contracts; McNabb was traded to the Vikings and then had his contract redone.)

Ponder will be practicing one day after signing a four-year contract that will pay him around $10 million and is all guaranteed. Under the new CBA, all first-round picks get contracts that include a non-negotiable fifth-year option. Without McNabb on the field, Vikings coach Leslie Frazier plans to give the first-team reps to Joe Webb because he finished last season as the starter."