Philadelphia Eagles: Arguments for keeping Alshon Jeffery in 2020
By John Newman
2. So, what do we make about all of that money?
Fans of locker room cohesion will probably still tell you that Jeffery needs to go, but, as mentioned, trading or releasing him won’t be so easy. Let’s get down to brass tacks here. Last year, Roseman and Jeffery agreed to restructure Jeffery’s contract before the start of the 2019 season. The Eagles freed some cap space in exchange for Jeffery taking a pay cut, and Jeffery was rewarded by having his salary for 2020 guaranteed.
According to OverTheCap.com, Jeffery would count about $26 million against the cap if he is cut before June 1, 2020. If he’s traded, the amount he’d represent in dead cap space would still be around $16.1 million. There’s only one situation in which Jeffery costs less than he does in either one of those options. They’d have to let him play. If they do he only costs $15.4 million.
There are other things to consider as well. According to Spotrac.com, the Eagles will have to make decisions about 20 potential free agents. They’re also expected to have ten draft picks, which includes projected compensatory picks. OverTheCap.com projects the team to have roughly $40 million in cap space to use this offseason on free agents, but even with the draft picks and money, this team is going to struggle to fill out the roster.
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The Eagles have significant holes on their roster at the moment. They need to re-sign or replace almost every one of their receivers, defensive backs, and linebackers during the offseason. Should they be considering discarding a proven receiver and veteran like Jeffery considering their roster situation?
Just because he’s on the books doesn’t mean he’ll see playing time. For starters, his hip, calf and foot injuries from 2019 threaten to keep him in treatment through training camp or longer. There’s a strong possibility that Jeffery will still be rehabbing his injuries through the start of the 2020 regular season. Considering his extensive injury history (both with the Chicago Bears and the Eagles), being extra precautious this time around might benefit ’17’ in 2020.