March 28, 2020
UPDATE [3:00 p.m.] — The Eagles, surprise surprise, missed out on yet another potentially perfect wide receiver fit as Demarcus Robinson decided to stay with the defending champion Chiefs Saturday.
The #Chiefs are re-signing WR Demarcus Robinson to a one-year deal, source said.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 28, 2020
Will they do anything to upgrade the position in free agency?
If you follow the Eagles closely in the offseason (and lets face it, there's nothing else to really follow right now so you probably do), you may have seen Friday night that the team was exercising a handful of options on key players.
First was Zach Ertz, who will likely start chatting with the Birds about a complete new deal sometime soon.
The #Eagles exercised TE Zach Ertz's 2021 option yesterday, per source. Strictly procedural. He's on the books for $8 million this season and $8.25M next season, with talks on an extension likely to pick up in the coming months.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 27, 2020
In the hours after that news broke, the Eagles reportedly also picked up options on QB Carson Wentz, OG Isaac Seumalo, DE Brandon Graham, DT Malik Jackson and WR Alshon Jeffery.
The Jeffery one is a little confusing, but it makes sense if you believe what Howie Roseman had to say to the media the other day regarding the controversial pass catcher.
"Some things that people don't get to see is that this guy wants to win world championships in Philly. He has told me recently how much he wants to win for our fans, for our city. It is important for him to be a Philadelphia Eagle and work hard. He understands what people feel about him right now and he's not sitting there feeling sorry for himself. He's trying to work to remind people the kind of player that he's been for our football team. The priority for Alshon is to get healthy. Just talking to our PR staff and hearing the narrative of Alshon, he's a good player. I think we lose sight of that a little bit and the things he can do when he's healthy. The toughness that he's shown in trying to bring a championship to our city, which he helped tremendously — and to have another one." [h/t CBS Sports]
Do Roseman's comments paired with their decision to exercise the option, plus their inactivity in the wide receiver area in free agency thus far imply that there is a chance they stick with the currently injured wideout Jeffery (recovering from Lisfranc surgery) for the 2020 season?
The move is procedural, as are the other moves above. Not much really has changed. In fact, the option was basically automatically exercised — the Eagles just didn't do anything to stop it from being done. They could still seek a trade, or could still cut Jeffery with a post-June 1st designation.
But the longer they do go without adding a wideout (they will most assuredly add at least one in April's draft) the more likely there is a possibility that they may keep Jeffery, his $16 million cap hit and all.
Last weekend the Eagles made a bunch of moves, signing three new defensive players. Will the Birds make any noise Saturday?
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