Another Busy Day

The NFL offseason is fun when you sign Jevon Kearse, Troy Vincent or trade for Jason Peters. The downside is when you have to say goodbye to players you have grown to really admire, on and off the field.

#Eagles announce they will not exercise 2020 contract option for S Malcolm Jenkins. pic.twitter.com/d8kzGFFksQ

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) March 17, 2020

Jenkins was no Brian Dawkins, but he was pretty damn special in his own right. Jenkins was a good player and a great leader. He was a huge part in the Eagles winning the first Super Bowl in franchise history.

How do you let him go?

It was the right move. The Eagles needed to get younger and faster. Jenkins will be 33 in December. He’s terrific in the box, but is not nearly as good out in space. Jenkins is a good hitter and generally a good tackler, but his coverage skills are declining. Some of that is physical, but he also can be overly aggressive at times. He gave up long TDs in each of the past two seasons when he bit up on a play-action pass and didn’t cover the deep middle.

I didn’t think the Eagles would let Jenkins go. While Howie Roseman wasn’t the decision-maker in March of 2009 when Dawkins left, Howie saw the impact of that move. It hurt the Eagles for several years. I figured that might be enough to sway the team to keep their veteran leader.

Instead, they embraced risk. I give them a lot of credit for that. The Eagles held onto veterans in recent years and it hurt the team. There is a saying in football that it is better to let a guy go a year too soon than a year too late. One hurts a little, the other hurts a lot.

The Eagles made two other moves at safety.

Jalen Mills is returning to Eagles on 1 year deal and is moving to safety, according to @JosinaAnderson pic.twitter.com/ErFQT3i383

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) March 17, 2020

Rodney McLeod's deal with #Eagles is two years, $12 million, per source

— Dave Zangaro (@DZangaroNBCS) March 17, 2020

This could be really interesting if the Eagles play McLeod more in the box and use Mills more in the deep middle. McLeod isn’t nearly as big as Jenkins, but he is quicker, faster and is good in the box. Mills can certainly play in the box. I think he also has really good potential as a safety.

Mills can hit and tackle. He is at his best when facing the QB and attacking the ball. I like this move.

The Eagles got younger and faster at safety today. The work isn’t done, though. They still need to draft a safety to add to the mix. They could still sign another young player for depth. Marcus Epps can compete for a spot, but he’s not shown enough to secure anything.

There is risk in these moves. McLeod was up and down in 2019. Mills might struggle in the move to safety. Jenkins might remain an effective starter for the next few years. Still, I think the Eagles were smart to take the chance.

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We know the backup QB for 2020.

In what will clearly be the biggest QB news of the day, the #Eagles are bringing back Nate Sudfeld for one more year. https://t.co/xMWCceAosE

— Dave Zangaro (@DZangaroNBCS) March 17, 2020

I am fine with this. Sudfeld joined the team in the 2017 season. He knows the offense well. He’s a solid athlete and has a good arm. Sudfeld does lack experience, but that’s a risk I’m okay with. He’s looked good in the preseason. This isn’t a blind faith move. Sudfeld has shown that he’s got the potential to succeed as a backup QB.

When  you pay the starter $32M, you are going to have to go cheap with the backup.

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What’s going on at WR and CB?

The receiver position has been quiet in terms of free agent moves. There were some trades on Monday, but we haven’t seen many guys signing deals with new teams.

This will change, possibly on Wednesday. Teams have been concentrating on other positions so far. At some point, they’ll start calling the receivers.

As for CB, there has been plenty of movement, but none by the Eagles. We don’t know if this is by design or if they have missed out on players. We assume the Eagles wanted some of these free agent corners. We don’t know that for a fact.

I do expect the Eagles to make a move at CB in the next few days. Desmond Trufant has yet to be cut by the Falcons. They could be trying to see if the Eagles or some other team is willing to trade for him. We’ll see what happens there.

The moves at safety mean Avonte Maddox will be staying at CB. He could start at LCB in place of Mills. The Eagles could leave Cre’Von LeBlanc in the slot and have Rasul Douglas and Sidney Jones as backups.

There is still the draft. The Eagles should have good options there.

I know it is frustrating that they haven’t addressed such a weakness yet, but the offseason is just getting started. Be patient. Let’s see what the plan is before we judge it.

Being patient is no fun, of course. My grandmother used to have a magnet on her refrigerator that read “Lord, give me patience. And I want it right now!”

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Jenkins wasn’t the only Eagle on his way out.

Jordan Howard signed a 2-year, $10M deal with Miami. Kamu Grugier-Hill also signed with Miami.

Good luck to both of them.

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