Howie Roseman and his Philadelphia Eagles have a very tough decision to make regarding wideout Alshon Jeffery this offseason.
By now, most fans are aware of this dilemma. Alshon is coming off arguably his worst year as a pro, many believe he was the anonymous source who criticized Carson Wentz the past two seasons to ESPN’s Josina Anderson, and he may not even be ready for the start of next season due to the Lisfranc injury he sustained in December.
On top of all that, Roseman guaranteed Jeffery’s contract for 2020 just before the start of last season. This means if the Eagles cut Alshon, he’ll account for a $26 million dead money charge along with decreasing the Eagles available cap space by over $10 million.
It doesn’t get much worse than this, folks.
The Eagles could conceivably trade Alshon to decrease the dead money they’ll incur, but the likelihood of any team trading for him is very low. Not only will that team have to take on his ridiculous contract, they’ll also be getting an aging, slow, quarterback criticizing receiver who will miss all offseason activities and may not even be ready for the start of next season.
Howie would probably have to give up a valuable asset just for any team to listen to a trade offer including Jeffery. And that’s not something Howie will do given how important this offseason is for his ball club.
So, the question still remains. How likely are the Eagles to part ways with Alshon this offseason? Well, based on some reports, the Birds are eager to get Alshon out of Philly.
The dead money is really the only thing holding them back at this point. He’d already be on the open market if it weren’t for the contract situation.
Although losing over $10 million in cap space this offseason wouldn’t be ideal, there is a silver lining here. The dead money penalty will only affect the organization this offseason, and getting Alshon out of town seems like it would benefit everyone invloved, most importantly Carson Wentz.
This situation sucks — there’s really no other way to put it. Alshon was a pivotal piece to the Eagles Super Bowl run, and he should always be recognized for that. But, given everything that’s transpired between then and now, cutting ties with the wideout feels like the best move for the franchise and something that should happen this offseason.