The Eagles sound seriously motivated to shake things up ahead of the Nov. 3 NFL trade deadline.
Amid numerous injuries that have decimated their offense, the Philadelphia front office is reportedly put another Pro Bowler, Alshon Jeffery, on the trading block after their failed attempt to move star tight end Zach Ertz.
“The Eagles have gotten a lot of calls on their players as well, which makes sense given how their season’s gone and where their cap is the next couple of years,” Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer wrote on Thursday before the Eagles beat the Giants. “Alshon Jeffery is very clearly available.”
Jeffery, 30, has missed the entire start of the 2020 season with a Lisfranc injury he suffered in December with no timetable for return. He is a perennial injury risk and has played in all 16 games just three times over eight seasons in the NFL.
The trade news comes days after the team also reportedly tried to deal Ertz before he suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 6 amid stalled contract negotiations. The 2013 second-round pick signed a five-year, $42.5 million contract in January 2016. He earns $6.6 million this year, with a $12.5 million cap hit and $13.6 dead cap hit. His dead cap hit in 2021, however, drops to $7.8 million according to Spotrac.
Across the league, contract negotiations this season come with an additional level of complexity for teams in light of the possibility that the salary cap could shrink due to fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
Ertz, 29, is a three-time Pro Bowler and the Eagles’ all-time receptions leader, but he has struggled this season even in light of less competition for targets. Through six games, he has caught 24 of 45 targets for 178 yards and one touchdown and his catch rate of 53.3 percent is the lowest of his career.
The Eagles officially placed Ertz on injured reserve this week with a “minor injury,” but interestingly dragged their feet in doing so, as players with “minor injuries” cannot be traded per this year’s rules.
“There have been calls on tight end Zach Ertz, too, and Philly delaying a day or two on moving Ertz to IR raised some eyebrows — this year, you have to designate guys on IR as having major or minor injuries, and guys categorized as having minor injuries can’t be traded. The Eagles designated Ertz as a minor injury, so that’s that on him,” Breer said.
A plethora of injuries and opt-outs in addition to Ertz and Jeffery have left the Eagles offense extremely lean. Jalen Reagor — Philadelphia’s 2020 first-round pick — suffered a torn UCL and remains on IR; Marquise Goodwin opted out of the season due to health concerns; Dallas Goedert is still on IR with an ankle injury; Miles Sanders entered the season hurt and suffered a knee injury during last Sunday’s game against the Ravens; DeSean Jackson suffered a hamstring injury in Week 2 and returned on Thursday night only to be carted off the field with a high ankle sprain on an ill-advised punt return.