By Jordan Long
Last night, the Philadelphia Eagles improved to 2-4-1 on the season after beating the New York Giants 22-21. Even with the victory, Philadelphia is looking to trade or release wide receiver Alshon Jeffery. The NFL trade deadline is November 3rd.
Jeffery has been with the Eagles since 2017. Jeffery lines up opposite of DeSean Jackson. Jackson is the number 1 wide receiver on the depth chart. Jeffery has his chance to tch the football and be open since defenses double team Jackson. His top year for the franchise was in 2018 when he caught 65 passes for 843 yards and 6 touchdowns. Last year Jeffery had 490 yards receiving and 4 touchdowns. The Eagles were expecting Jeffery’s game to improve this season.
Unfortunately, it has not to this point. Jeffery hasn’t seen the field this year dealing with a calf injury. The Eagles were hopeful he would play at some point this season. With him out, the Eagles have relied on Travis Fulgham who has been a bright spot for Philadelphia. Including last night, Fulgham has 357 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns. With his emergence, Jeffery may be on his way out.
The Eagles would first like to deal him to another team. He has shown in the past he can help a team on offense. Jeffery has totaled 6,671 receiving yards and 45 touchdowns in his career. His average yards per catch is 14.2. Those catches would benefit a team because he would move the chains for 1st-downs or longer. Jeffery makes sure he holds onto the football and only fumbled 5 times in his career.
The Eagles could exchange him for draft picks. At least it would be something back for the Eagles even if it is a mid-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft. The tricky part about all of it is his cap space. Jeffery’s cap hit is around $15.396 million this season and $18,486,500 million next year, a lot for a team to take on.
The Eagles might end up cutting him. This move would be cost cutting for them, saving the Eagles $7,977,000 million by letting him go. This allows Jeffery to be a free agent. Any team could pick him up even if it is the practice squad. The Eagles have time to decide what they want to do with Jeffery. Cutting him may possibly be the best for them.
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