February 21, 2018

Eagles stay or go: Safeties

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Now that the Philadelphia Eagles' offseason is (finally) underway, let's take a look at each position and figure out which players will be back in 2018, and which ones will be playing elsewhere. Here we'll look at safety.

Malcolm Jenkins

On the field, Jenkins was as versatile a defender as imaginable, as he played safety, slot corner, linebacker, and outside corner in 2017. Off the field, he was one of the leaders of the team. It's crazy to think that the Eagles actually considered including him in a package to acquire Brandin Cooks last offseason.

#JimmyVerdict: Stay.

Your verdict:

Rodney McLeod

Last offseason, the Eagles converted over $3 million of McLeod's salary into a bonus, thus creating immediate savings while spreading out his cap cost over the duration of his contract. Teams only do that with players they are willing to make long-term commitments to, so McLeod isn't going anywhere for years.

#JimmyVerdict: Stay.

Your verdict:

Corey Graham

Graham had some bad moments early in the season while playing hurt, most notably against the Chiefs, when Kareem Hunt made him look old. However, as the season progressed, Graham played well and was a valuable piece as a third safety.

MORE ON THE EAGLES: Report: Alshon Jeffery underwent shoulder surgery after playing entire season with torn rotator cuff | Recap: Eagles chat with Jimmy Kempski | Analysis of all 29 of Doug Pederson's 4th down 'go for it' calls in 2017 | Report: Eagles promote Mike Groh to offensive coordinator

#JimmyVerdict: Like I said with LeGarrette Blount, I think the Eagles will wait until after the draft to decide on if they bring Graham back. If they select a safety or corner (with safety ability) reasonably early, I would lean against it. If not, I think they'd quickly move to re-sign him, if he hasn't already landed elsewhere. Graham should be back. It's just a matter of at what cost? I think the Eagles get something done there.

Your verdict:

Jaylen Watkins

According to Ian Rapoport on NFL Network, the Eagles decided not to tender Watkins as a restricted free agent. That was an easy decision, as doing so would have meant a $1.1 million raise. When Watkins had to play in 2017, he filled in capably, but is not worth the roughly $2 million that a restricted free agent tender would cost. The team could look to add Watkins back to the roster at something closer to the veteran minimum.

#JimmyVerdict: Go, for now, but maybe re-sign at some point?

Your verdict:

Chris Maragos

Maragos is one of the best special teams players in the NFL, but he'll be coming back from a serious knee injury. If the Eagles were to release Maragos, they would save $1.5 million.

#JimmyVerdict: That's not out of the question, but I'd lean strongly toward Maragos returning in 2018.

Your verdict:

#JimmyVerdict Stay or Go Results

Green = Stay

Red = Go

Orange = They'll make it to camp, and will have to prove they belong on the roster.

(Note: Some mobile versions will not display colors.)

Position	1	2	3	4
QB	Carson Wentz	Nick Foles	Nate Sudfeld
RB	Jay Ajayi	LeGarrette Blount	Corey Clement	Darren Sproles
RB (cont)	Wendell Smallwood	Donnel Pumphrey	Kenjon Barner
WR	Alshon Jeffery	Torrey Smith	Nelson Agholor	Mack Hollins
WR (cont)	Shelton Gibson	Marcus Johnson
TE	Zach Ertz	Brent Celek	Trey Burton
OT	Jason Peters	Lane Johnson	Halapoulivaati Vaitai	Will Beatty
OG	Brandon Brooks	Stefen Wisniewski	Chance Warmack
C	Jason Kelce	Isaac Seumalo
DE	Brandon Graham	Vinny Curry	Derek Barnett	Chris Long
DE (cont)	Steven Means
DT	Fletcher Cox	Tim Jernigan	Beau Allen	Destiny Vaeao
DT (cont)	Elijah Qualls
ILB	Jordan Hicks	Dannell Ellerbe	Najee Goode	Joe Walker
OLB	Nigel Bradham	Mychal Kendricks	Kamu Grugier-Hill	Nate Gerry
CB	Jalen Mills	Ronald Darby	Patrick Robinson	Sidney Jones
CB (cont)	Rasul Douglas
S	Malcolm Jenkins	Rodney McLeod	Corey Graham	Jaylen Watkins
S (cont)	Chris Maragos
K/P/LS/Braman
Head coach
Defensive coordinator
GM