Philadelphia Eagles: 4 players fighting to keep their jobs beyond 2020
Alshon Jeffery
This one should be a no-brainer. Philadelphia has seen a general decline in Alshon Jeffery‘s output since his Pro-Bowl season in 2013 when he finished with 1,421 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
To cap off his mediocre performances from the last two years, Jeffery’s 2019 season was cut short by a season ending Lisfranc injury.
Unfortunately, the wide receiver is not expected to be healthy enough to return for the first game of the 2020 NFL season, meaning there will be an opportunity for others to step up.
On April 23, general manager Howie Roseman and coach Doug Pederson answered the prayers of Eagles fans everywhere by choosing wide receiver Jalen Reagor with their first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Despite working with an inexperienced quarterback in college, Reagor was able to make a name for himself playing for TCU, so much so that Philadelphia chose him over LSU‘s Justin Jefferson, who was still available when Philadelphia made their selection.
Philadelphia went on to select two more wideouts later on in the draft, John Hightower of Boise State and Quez Watkins of Southern Miss.
Additionally, they traded their 190th pick to the San Francisco 49ers for their 210th pick and veteran wide receiver Marquise Goodwin.
By bringing in not one, but several new wide receivers into the fold, Philadelphia has signaled to Jeffery that they are actively seeking to fill his spot on the roster with new talent.
However, with any other NFL team unlikely to burden themselves with his hefty $16 million cap hit, Jeffery should have one last opportunity in the 2020 season to prove himself as a valued member of the Eagles’ offense.
The expectations for Reagor are lofty, but Jeffery has proven that his ceiling is incredibly high as well. If Jeffery were to show up in 2020 and post the same type of stats that he did in 2013 or even 2014, Eagles executives may have something to consider.
If not, Jeffery’s time with the Eagles will almost surely be over.