Eagles need healthy Jeffery moving forward
The high-priced wide receiver, whose 2019 season ended with Lisfranc surgery, is virtually untradeable.
Aging, injured, selfish, Alshon Jeffery has been called a lot of things.
Elephant in the room may be a first.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman used that terminology while talking about the embattled veteran during a wide-ranging conference call Thursday, one in which he spoke glowingly of the eight new pieces added in free agency and a trade.
The Jeffery quip wasn’t meant as a rip, rather it was an admission of the obvious. Jeffery, 30, is due $11.5 million guaranteed this season. He’s had trouble staying healthy, his 2019 season ended by Lisfranc surgery, and his red zone production has declined.
The Eagles drafted JJ Arcega-Whiteside in the second round of the last draft ostensibly to replace Jeffery, who is virtually untradeable. Barring a miraculous recovery, the Eagles could end up dumping him after June 1.
The Eagles have added seven defensive players in a few short weeks, the only offensive guy being backup quarterback Nate Sudfeld. That ratio will change during the April 23rd draft, as it’s full of receivers. Until then all the Eagles can do is wait for Jeffery to get well.
“Obviously, the elephant in the room is Alshon,” Roseman
said on a conference call Thursday. “Alshon’s gotta get healthy. That’s the No. 1 priority for us and for him. He understands. He knows what’s being said about him. He understands that he has a lot to prove and he’s anxious to do that. So, he’s not living in a bubble.”
Roseman was much more effusive in his remarks about DeSean Jackson, who hasn’t played a full season since 2013, and was limited to just one full game and fractions of two others last year due to a sports hernia. Jackson turns 34 in December. Roseman called DJax talented and is hoping a new training plan will keep the veteran on the field.
That said, the Eagles are
counting on Arcega-Whiteside, Greg Ward and whoever they get out of the draft to step up at wide receiver this year. The Eagles are almost certain to use the 21st overall pick in the draft on a receiver, with Henry Ruggs (Alabama) and Justin Jefferson (LSU) likely to be targets. It would surprise no one if the Eagles took three receivers if they hang on to what now are eight draft picks.
There aren’t as many topnotch defensive backs in the draft, which is at least partly why the Eagles dealt third and fifth-round picks to the Detroit Lions for cornerback Darius Slay and then signed him to a $50
million contract extension. Slay has 19 interceptions in seven seasons.
The Eagles also signed defensive backs Will Parker (Broncos) and Nickell Robey-Coleman (Rams), and brought back Jalen Mills, who they believe is capable of playing corner and safety.
The secondary was fortified more than any position, and for good reason.
“It’s hard when you’re watching games and the ball is getting thrown over your head and you’re also not getting an opportunity to get the ball back,” Roseman said. “And that hurts the offense and that hurts the defense. Like all of you, you’re watching it, I’m watching it, and we’re seeing the effect that has.”
Hargrave last season helped Pittsburgh Steelers
teammates Bud Dupree and D.J. Watt have career sacks totals.
The Eagles also re-signed safety Rodney McLeod, who Roseman is counting on to take over for Malcolm Jenkins. It’s safe to say Jenkins was the elephant in the room. The Eagles released him just before the start of the new league year.
Jenkins made it clear he wouldn’t play without a new contract. He got it from the New Orleans Saints, although the fouryear, $32 million pact was a modest $2 million per year raise.
“The hardest part of this job is the fact that you have to make tough decisions, and you’ve got to figure out where you’re going to do that,” Roseman said. “When you have people and players who have given the team so
much, and really the city so much, and me personally so much, these are hard things to do. We’re trying to balance what we can do this year and what we can do going forward. … You can’t sign everyone. For us, we had to make some decisions. At the end of the day, it’s a very tough decision. I have no doubt that he’s going to go somewhere and continue to play at a high level. But we’re in a position with our team, we’re going to have to lose some guys. We’ve seen it with teams in our division, as well, having to lose guys. It’s just the nature of where we are.”
The nature of where the Eagles are is an $18.6 million cap hit for Carson Wentz this year, a $34.6 million hit next year and a $31.2 million charge the following year. That’s why
they’ve spent cautiously in free agency, released vets like Jenkins and let others walk.
Thirty-eight-year-old offensive tackle Jason Peters, let loose in free agency, is a possibility to return at some point if available and the Eagles aren’t happy with Andre Dillard, Jordan Mailata or Matt Pryor, Roseman suggested Thursday. The Eagles are bullish on Mailata.
“A guy like Matt Pryor, who got tremendous experience, you can see the value that he can potentially have as he continues to grow and get better, playing in that playoff game,” Roseman said. “Jordan is another guy that he went on IR, but this is his third year, this is his time to really step up and we think he’s got it all in his body. He’s got the versatility to play both sides and when you look at his talent level, it’s off the charts.”
Eagles tight end Zach Ertz, who counts $12.5 million against the cap, may be a candidate for an extension or, considering that he turns 30 in November, a trade. The Eagles need a pass-rusher in the worst way and the Jacksonville Jaguars have a very unhappy one in Yannick Ngakoue, who they slapped with a franchise tag.
Of course, that would represent a financial challenge. Wentz, Ertz and Jeffery count for $46.5 million or 24 percent of the Eagles’ $198 million cap this season. The cap charges of Slay and Hargrave triple in 2021.
The Eagles need the inexpensive labor those eight picks could provide them in the 2020 draft.