The Philadelphia Eagles seem stuck with Alshon Jeffery in 2020. The team restructured his contract and trusted him to produce.
It hasn’t exactly worked out that way. In fact, Jeffery’s 2019 season has resembled a beautiful dark twisted fantasy — and Kanye West wasn’t producing it. The up-and-down receiver is lost for the season after breaking his foot in Week 14 and the Eagles’ front office must pick up the pieces. More importantly, they must look toward the future.
Former Eagles president Joe Banner recently shared his thoughts on the subject with The Philadelphia Inquirer. Banner sees a scenario where the franchise can cut ties with both Jeffery and DeSean Jackson, although the Eagles would have to be willing to lose money in the process. Jeffery carries a cap hit of $15.69 million in 2020 and $18.53 million in 2021.
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Banner told The Philadelphia Inquirer:
They’re definitely going to have to eat some cap dollars. But we saw the Steelers eat $21 million in cap money this year when they realized they were better off without a player (Antonio Brown).
You have to clear the space. And they will have the cap room. It’s a terrible way to use cap dollars. But fortunately, the way the cap is increasing and the way they’ve managed it, they can do it if they really want to.
Eagles Need to Get Creative at WR in 2020
The Eagles would be wise to move on from Alshon Jeffery. His lack of production on the field isn’t even his biggest issue. It’s his perceived inability to forge a working relationship with Carson Wentz.
Jeffery has been accused of leaking confidential information to ESPN while “secretly” criticizing Wentz in the media and even skipping offseason bonding trips with the quarterback. The thrill is gone.
Meanwhile, DeSean Jackson appeared to have great chemistry with Wentz and the duo was supposed to provide instant offense. They certainly looked unstoppable in Week 1 after Jackson caught eight balls for 154 yards and two touchdowns.
DeSean Jackson 51-yard TD from Carson Wentz. Welcome home.
According to Joe Banner, the Eagles could try and convince Jackson to convert part of his salary to bonuses to clear cap space. Ultimately, the former executive feels the team will part ways with both players.
“If I had to guess today, it would be that neither one of them is back, unless they agree to restructure their contracts,” Banner told The Inquirer’s Paul Domowitch. “Maybe DeSean will be willing to convert part of his salary to bonuses so that if he’s actually healthy and playing he makes what he’s supposed to, but otherwise he doesn’t.”
DeSean Jackson’s Rehab Looks Ahead of Schedule
DeSean Jackson has been relatively quiet since going on IR back on Nov. 8. The Eagles haven’t given an update out on his progress, but they were holding out hope the speedster might return for the playoffs.
Jackson provided his own status report five days ago when he posted a video on social media. In it, the receiver can be seen pumping 40-pound dumbbells while balancing himself on a workout bench. It’s a pretty impressive feat for a guy that underwent core-muscle surgery about a month ago.
💪 #Eagles WR DeSean Jackson appears to be increasing his rehab at Eagles headquarters
📸 via @DeSeanJackson10
There has been no word on if Jackson would indeed be back for a potential first-round playoff game. If he were able to suit up, the Eagles could be a scary team to face. Especially since they would get a home game as a division winner. Stay tuned.
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Former Eagles President Offers Insight on Alshon Jeffery’s Future