The Philadelphia Eagles struck gold prior to the NFL trade deadline by adding Jay Ajayi, but what does that mean for LeGarrette Blount?
In a move that no one saw coming, the Philadelphia Eagles added Jay Ajayi from the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a fourth-round draft selection. There was a ton of talk about the possibility of securing the rights to Calvin Johnson from the Detroit Lions, but once again, everyone was given the “head fake” from executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman.
The question now becomes what happens to LeGarrette Blount? Adding Blount in the offseason via a one-year deal meant two things. One, the Eagles appeared to, instantly, be better at the running back position. Second, the theory was this was Roseman’s attempt to slap a band aid on a serious problem.
Meaning?
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One could argue that acquiring Ajayi means Blount’s probably been given a demotion. Ajayi is less expensive, better in pass protection and younger. Based on his current contract, the Eagles don’t even have to worry about renegotiating a deal until the end of 2018 if they don’t want to. Ajayi is due $600,000 for the 2017 season and another $760,000 for 2018.
Blount, on the other hand, signed a $1.25 million dollar deal and is due $1.5 million dollars in incentives. He probably won’t be seeing those incentives now. It isn’t personal. It’s just business. Every Eagles fan has been hearing about Philadelphia’s salary cap concerns for quite some time now.
Michael Lombardi, always available to give his opinion about the Eagles (whether wanted or unwanted), seems to agree.
Take a look:
Blount has 1.55 million of incentives in his contract, and now with Ajayi, he has no chance to achieve that money...gonna have to handle him
— Michael Lombardi (@mlombardiNFL) October 31, 2017
Ajayi was drafted 149th-overall by the Dolphins in the 2015 NFL Draft. Some thought he may go higher, but with concerns about his durability, he slipped a little. He proved the doubters wrong by making his first Pro Bowl in 2016. He’ll attempt to do the same in Philly for at least the end of the 2017 season and the duration of the 2018 season.
At this point. it doesn’t appear Blount will be traded, but this is Roseman we’re discussing. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.