The wide receiver position has been one of the top talking points surrounding the Eagles this offseason. Most of the talk has focused on who the team may bring in during free agency or the draft. Not much of the discussion has centered around who may end up as the odd-man out.
According to Inside the Birds’ Geoff Mosher, teams around the league have reached out to inquire about 2020 first-round pick Jalen Reagor.
Other teams will be interested in acquiring Reagor. Sources have told Inside The Birds that teams have already called to check on the third-year receiver’s availability.“
Reagor’s two-year stint with the team has been about as bad as it can get. After a lackluster rookie season, Reagor’s production actually went down in 2021. He totaled just 33 receptions for 299 yards and two touchdowns. Pro Football Focus handed him an overall grade of 56.2 for the season, 105th out of 115 qualifying wideouts.
When discussing a potential trade like this, we have to take a few things into account.
- How much value can you realistically recoup from an underperforming former first-round pick
- How will said trade affect the team financially
- Will the team actually be better off without said player
Starting from the top, it’s hard to imagine the Eagles getting any sort of real value from trading away Reagor at this juncture. Howie Roseman has pulled off his fair share of trade heists during his time, but one thing he’s never done is trade an asset for pennies on the dollar.
If Philly managed to get anything more than a fifth-round pick in an upcoming draft, that would be a win based on Reagor’s production through two NFL seasons. Given the fact that Reagor was a first-round pick and still has a few years left on his rookie deal, getting a fifth-round back in return is an obvious loss.
In terms of the financial impact, the Eagles have no incentive to move Reagor right now. If they traded him before June 1, they’d take on a dead cap hit of $3.6 million while only saving $13,576 in cap space. A post-June 1 trade would see the Eagles take on a dead cap hit of $1.802M while saving $1.816M. They have nothing to gain from a cap standpoint by trading Reagor.
Finally, will the Eagles actually be better off without Jalen Reagor on the team?
We already know they won’t get much in return in a trade involving Reagor. They’d be lucky if a late day three pick ended up turning into anything more than a viable special teams player.
As it stands right now, no, the Eagles wouldn’t be better if Reagor was gone. Even with the addition of Zach Pascal, who many figure will take Reagor’s spot on the depth chart, the Eagles can’t afford to just sell off receivers for nothing. PFF actually handed Pascal a worse overall grade last season (52.7, 113th out of 115 WRs) than Reagor. So even if you’re argument is based around having Pascal take Reagor’s spot, how is that an upgrade? Both in the short-term and long-term, Reagor is more valuable to this organization than Pascal.
Now, if the Eagles do end up using a high pick on a wideout in this month’s NFL Draft, then yes, there won’t be much room for Reagor to see the field. But one major injury to the group could thrust Reagor right back into the starting lineup.
There’s no denying that Reagor has underperformed through his first two NFL seasons. However, he’s only 23 years old and has two years remaining on his rookie contract before the team has to decide whether or not to pick up his fifth-year option. As we saw with Nelson Agholor, the best route to take here is to just let it play out. Not every receiver pops from day one. Given another year to develop, perhaps Reagor’s career trajectory will match that of Agholor’s. Only time will tell.