Getty Rasul Douglas has been one of the few healthy cornerbacks for the Eagles this season.
It’s the offseason in the NFL and people are hungry for news. Any kind of news. Rasul Douglas gave everyone something to talk about.
The Eagles cornerback shared a wistful Twitter message on Sunday night that had many fans and media alike scratching their collective heads. The vague post expressed a desire to return to the football field and hang out with his teammates in Philadelphia. Innocent enough.
But it was interpreted in a variety of different ways, including some people thinking that Douglas had possibly been released or traded. That wasn’t the case.
Douglas wrote: “I miss the gang I ain’t gone lie. Those some of the funniest people I know. You couldn’t have a bad day in our locker room somebody was gone make you laugh I promise !!”
Douglas, by all accounts, is still on the Eagles’ roster and probably will be for the foreseeable future considering the team’s lack of depth at cornerback. Remember, Douglas is under contract through 2020 and it wouldn’t make much sense to waive him. His cap hit is only $2.3 million for 2020, with a dead cap of just $176,000. Douglas signed a four-year, $3.17 million contract in 2017.
I miss the gang I ain’t gone lie . Those some of the funniest people I know . You couldn’t have a bad day in our locker room somebody was gone make you laugh I promise !!
There has been wide speculation about some other players the Eagles might decide to part ways with in recent days. Starting middle linebacker Nigel Bradham has been a leading candidate for that due to the $9.76 million cap hit — dead cap of $5.3 million — attached to his deal.
The Eagles are already projected to have roughly $40.9 million in cap space, per SpoTrac, and freeing up even more money could help them land prized free agents like pass-rusher Vic Beasley and cornerback Byron Jones. Just a thought.
Would the Eagles Cut or Trade Malcolm Jenkins?
Another quiet rumor slowly whispering down the lane has been the possibility of moving on from Malcolm Jenkins. Insane, right? Maybe not.
The veteran safety has not been bashful about his desire for a new contract. Jenkins flat-out said he won’t play under his current contract. While it seems unfathomable for the Eagles to compete for a championship without their undisputed defensive leader, the financials make sense. The Eagles could save up to $4.1 million in cap space by cutting or trading Jenkins.
Only two @NFL safeties have recorded 13+ INTs and 10+ FFs since 2013:
Malcolm Jenkins (13 INTs, 14 FFs)
Rodney McLeod (13 INTs, 11 FFs)
The problem is that Jenkins has all the leverage in any scenario. Philadelphia failed to address the safety position in previous drafts and now have two aging players — Jenkins (32) and Rodney McLeod (29) — quarterbacking their secondary. McLeod is a free agent and will likely be looking for a deal in the neighborhood of four years at $32 million. It’s quite the conundrum.
“We had a couple of those opportunities where maybe we could have gone in a different direction,” Eagles GM Howie Roseman said about not drafting a safety in 2019, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “But I think when we sit back down and look at it, maybe that was an area we thought we’d address, but you can’t go into a draft and just say you’re going to address it.”
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