The Philadelphia Eagles restructured Alshon Jeffery’s contract with less than 24 hours to go before their first game. Could a Malcolm Jenkins extension be on the way?
While many football fans were enjoying a little college football, the Philadelphia Eagles were working. That shouldn’t be a surprise though. The team’s vice president and general manager Howie Roseman is always working. With less than 24 hours to go before Philly’s Week 1 opener, we learned via an Ian Rapoport that the Eagles had restructured the deal of one Alshon Jeffery. Does that mean they’re freeing up cap space to extend Malcolm Jenkins?
If it doesn’t, then, maybe someone ought to recommend that it would be a good idea.
The Eagles handle business in the complete opposite fashion that we see from the rival Dallas Cowboys. While Dallas has to be loud and advertise everything, the Eagles do things very quietly. No one knew Philly was working on a Carson Wentz extension. We just got the details when it was done.
Meanwhile, Jerry Jones and his Cowboys are just annoyingly loud about every part of the process. Look no further than the Ezekiel Elliott debacle.
Regardless of all of that, while ‘Zeke’ headed to Cabo, Malcolm Jenkins, who was looking for a deal of his own, went to work. Jenkins’ desire for a new deal has been publicized. Philly named him as one of their team captains and rightfully so. Often, we hear criticism of Carson Wentz, but it’s always for one reason. It’s the ‘can he stay healthy’ conversation.
If former Eagle and current Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Herm Edwards is right and availability is a skill, then Jenkins has cornered the market. He was in for all 1,180 of the Eagles’ defensive snaps in 2018. That includes the playoffs. He hasn’t missed a game since arriving in 2014, and his leadership and the love his teammates have for him can’t be questioned.
Check a recent assessment of him by his defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
"He’s one the best pros I’ve been around in my career. He takes notes in a meeting like he’s a rookie. (He) works in practice, wears out the meeting room, (and) wears out the tape. He’s a supremely conditioned player."
What else needs to be said?
Philly was in a similar situation to this with another legend, a man who spent 13 seasons with ‘The Birds’, safety Brian Dawkins. The Eagles made a mistake when ‘Weapon ‘ was allowed to walk after the 2008 season. They never found another guy like him until, well, when Jenkins arrived. Guys like this don’t grow on trees. The Eagles need to extend Jenkins and do so quickly.
No one wants to see history repeat itself. No one wants to see Malcolm Jenkins leave in the same manner that ‘Dawk’ did.