Just now, EazyEaglez said:

I believe that Roseman can find ways around the cap, but realistically the Eagles after 2020 will need to make a lot of changes in order to become cap compliant. I do think they need to revamp this team, but that kind of means this year is really their last shot before they make big changes. With that being the case I’m still not sure if Alshon plays for them next season. I mean I wouldn’t be shocked either way at this point.

I don't worry about the cap. Howie will manage it and manipulate it to make it work. 

1 hour ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I don't worry about the cap. Howie will manage it and manipulate it to make it work. 

The truth is the Eagles have the money so if Howie wants to make moves for this season he can. I’m not sure how much longer Jeffery has on the team once he’s healthy. I’m sure the Eagles would prefer to trade him rather than release him. If he somehow finds a way to dominate next year he could change their plans again. Ultimately I would rather the problem be he was too good than too bad. 

16 minutes ago, EazyEaglez said:

The truth is the Eagles have the money so if Howie wants to make moves for this season he can. I’m not sure how much longer Jeffery has on the team once he’s healthy. I’m sure the Eagles would prefer to trade him rather than release him. If he somehow finds a way to dominate next year he could change their plans again. Ultimately I would rather the problem be he was too good than too bad. 

I just think we need to be open minded with Jeffery.

So many questions:

1) When will he be ready to play in 2020 and how effective will he be when he does play? (he has played hurt before and is still capable of being a difference maker)

2) Will his issues with Wentz, whether real or perceived cause a meaningful distraction within the team? (I think this is way overblown, but the media and fans won't leave it alone)

3) How effective will our other receivers be in 2020 and 2021? Will they be better options than Jeffery.

 

15 minutes ago, ManchesterEagle said:

I just think we need to be open minded with Jeffery.

So many questions:

1) When will he be ready to play in 2020 and how effective will he be when he does play? (he has played hurt before and is still capable of being a difference maker)

2) Will his issues with Wentz, whether real or perceived cause a meaningful distraction within the team? (I think this is way overblown, but the media and fans won't leave it alone)

3) How effective will our other receivers be in 2020 and 2021? Will they be better options than Jeffery.

 

I think even Howie had to ask these questions. Truth is Jeffery has always been a guy with nagging injuries here and there and that will not get better the older he gets. This foot injury has proven to be bothersome to a lot of guys in the past. I still wonder if he’s ready to play by September. 

We're way over the cap going into 2021.  Alshon's always hurt.  Actually is still hurt now   Giant contract.  Neutral locker room presence at best.  We just drafted three WR's this year and traded for a vet.  We drafted one high last year.  DJax isn't going anywhere.   And there's Greg Ward who most likely earned himself a roster spot.

Why is this still a question?  Dude's done.  Stash him on IR this year, free up the roster spot, worry about it later in the season. 

3 hours ago, hukdonfoniks said:

We're way over the cap going into 2021.  Alshon's always hurt.  Actually is still hurt now   Giant contract.  Neutral locker room presence at best.  We just drafted three WR's this year and traded for a vet.  We drafted one high last year.  DJax isn't going anywhere.   And there's Greg Ward who most likely earned himself a roster spot.

Why is this still a question?  Dude's done.  Stash him on IR this year, free up the roster spot, worry about it later in the season. 

Stashing him on IR doesn't do anything about his contract and the cap impact. It just frees up a roster spot that you would have to pay an additional player.

Restructuring Alshon's contract at the start of last year is the one black mark in cap management by Howie who is generally very good at this stuff.

When people say you can always manipulate the cap and make room - yes but it comes at a cost of far less flexibility down the road. Restructured players have way higher cap consequences if cut than before any restructure which makes them, well hard or in this case impossible to cut.

1 hour ago, kiwieagle said:

Restructuring Alshon's contract at the start of last year is the one black mark in cap management by Howie who is generally very good at this stuff.

Yeah there's no getting around it or away from it. It was a mistake, it is a black mark. 

Actually I heard yesterday that they apparently restructured Malik Jackson's deal and as a result we now don't have an out in 2021 without cap hits. Why? 

6 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Actually I heard yesterday that they apparently restructured Malik Jackson's deal and as a result we now don't have an out in 2021 without cap hits. Why? 

Where did you read that? That doesn't sound like a wise thing to do either

40 minutes ago, kiwieagle said:

Where did you read that? That doesn't sound like a wise thing to do either

I heard Adam Caplan talking about it on ITB. He seemed pretty adamant. 

14 hours ago, Devaster said:

Stashing him on IR doesn't do anything about his contract and the cap impact. It just frees up a roster spot that you would have to pay an additional player.

Yeah, we're stuck with that contract no matter what we do.   But with a now crowded WR group we can at least keep a younger player.

1 hour ago, hukdonfoniks said:

Yeah, we're stuck with that contract no matter what we do.   But with a now crowded WR group we can at least keep a younger player.

Yes yes yes yes yes please. We brought in these younger guys so got to see what they can do. 

On 5/12/2020 at 2:24 AM, Devaster said:

Stashing him on IR doesn't do anything about his contract and the cap impact. It just frees up a roster spot that you would have to pay an additional player.

 

19 hours ago, hukdonfoniks said:

Yeah, we're stuck with that contract no matter what we do.   But with a now crowded WR group we can at least keep a younger player.

 

17 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Yes yes yes yes yes please. We brought in these younger guys so got to see what they can do. 

WR group is crowded yes, but look at what we have:

1) Jackson - good player, but will turn 34 and coming off a lost season. Even if it all goes to plan, we can expect him to miss 3-6 games with hamstring issues etc.

2) Ward - played really well at the end of last year, but against weak teams. Hopefully he can keep it up and develop, but doesn't have size or speed and is better suited for the slot.

3) Reagor - high hopes for this kid, but will not have a proper offseason and will work in at the Z and slot positions.

4) JJAW - this is your best hope for keeping Jeffery off the field, as he is in theory a natural replacement. Will need to improve substantially from last year.

5) Goodwin - Goodwin sucks. He really does. He can't catch or run underneath routes and is a 29 year old speed receiver with chronic knee issues. The 49ers, who are really thin at WR, couldn't wait to get rid of him. He is a flyer/vet insurance.

6/7) Hightower and Watkins. Late round flyers. How many late round WRs turn into viable starters? Very few indeed. Chances are neither will be ready to see the field, let alone play meaningful snaps.

Meanwhile you have Jeffery, who you are stuck with anyway because of his contract. Jeffery has played hurt plenty of times and he is still an effective and legitimate starting NFL WR. They are not easy to come by. If and when he is healthy he needs to play. We are not good enough at WR to IR him.

 

4 hours ago, ManchesterEagle said:

 

 

WR group is crowded yes, but look at what we have:

1) Jackson - good player, but will turn 34 and coming off a lost season. Even if it all goes to plan, we can expect him to miss 3-6 games with hamstring issues etc.

2) Ward - played really well at the end of last year, but against weak teams. Hopefully he can keep it up and develop, but doesn't have size or speed and is better suited for the slot.

3) Reagor - high hopes for this kid, but will not have a proper offseason and will work in at the Z and slot positions.

4) JJAW - this is your best hope for keeping Jeffery off the field, as he is in theory a natural replacement. Will need to improve substantially from last year.

5) Goodwin - Goodwin sucks. He really does. He can't catch or run underneath routes and is a 29 year old speed receiver with chronic knee issues. The 49ers, who are really thin at WR, couldn't wait to get rid of him. He is a flyer/vet insurance.

6/7) Hightower and Watkins. Late round flyers. How many late round WRs turn into viable starters? Very few indeed. Chances are neither will be ready to see the field, let alone play meaningful snaps.

Meanwhile you have Jeffery, who you are stuck with anyway because of his contract. Jeffery has played hurt plenty of times and he is still an effective and legitimate starting NFL WR. They are not easy to come by. If and when he is healthy he needs to play. We are not good enough at WR to IR him.

 

In the past two offseasons, they drafted four WR's.  Two of them were high picks.  Three of them are speed WR's, a much needed skill set Alshon doesn't have.  The other one is Alshon's exact skill set. 

They traded for a veteran WR who has legit Olympic-level speed. 

They also have Jackson who clearly isn't going anywhere this season.

They also have Ward who proved himself a reliable WR. 

 

What about any of that looks good for Alshon?

3 hours ago, hukdonfoniks said:

In the past two offseasons, they drafted four WR's.  Two of them were high picks.  Three of them are speed WR's, a much needed skill set Alshon doesn't have.  The other one is Alshon's exact skill set. 

They traded for a veteran WR who has legit Olympic-level speed. 

They also have Jackson who clearly isn't going anywhere this season.

They also have Ward who proved himself a reliable WR. 

 

What about any of that looks good for Alshon?

Forget about the 5th and 6th round picks. You really think they are going to be able to play meaningful snaps as rookies? I will come here and eat crow if either puts up 300 yards.

They swapped 6th round picks for a veteran who has had one year of 500 yards or more in 7 years and is coming off chronic knee issues. He is a flyer/insurance policy and is probably more to be insurance for Jackson/Reagor as he is useless underneath, can't catch and is no threat in the red zone.

JJAW - yep - taken to be Alshon's replacement. But he sucked last year. He could come on, but if he doesn't, Alshon is the best option.

 

On 5/5/2020 at 12:31 PM, Mr_Soprano said:

Jeffrey will have a bounce back year.

He has to get healthy first, but I'm not really sure what bounce back is for this guy. He was hobbling after week 2 last season. 

23 minutes ago, ManchesterEagle said:

Forget about the 5th and 6th round picks. You really think they are going to be able to play meaningful snaps as rookies? I will come here and eat crow if either puts up 300 yards.

They swapped 6th round picks for a veteran who has had one year of 500 yards or more in 7 years and is coming off chronic knee issues. He is a flyer/insurance policy and is probably more to be insurance for Jackson/Reagor as he is useless underneath, can't catch and is no threat in the red zone.

JJAW - yep - taken to be Alshon's replacement. But he sucked last year. He could come on, but if he doesn't, Alshon is the best option.

 

It's not a matter of when they're going to produce and at what level.  It's a matter of roster spots. 

We have 5, maybe 6 spots to dedicate to the WR position. DJax/Reagor/JJAW are locks.  Ward is a likely lock as well.  Goodwin/Hightower/Watkins are and can be legit 5th/6th WR's on the roster.

It's a crowded depth chart now, and there is not one thing Alshon gives us that the others cannot.  If anything, we've clearly moved away from Alshon's skill set entirely with the exception of JJAW. 

22 minutes ago, EazyEaglez said:

He has to get healthy first, but I'm not really sure what bounce back is for this guy. He was hobbling after week 2 last season. 

Jeffery hasn't been healthy since he's been here. But a 70% Jeffery is still an effective starting wide receiver and red zone threat. If he can get back to that, then he can help.

10 minutes ago, hukdonfoniks said:

It's not a matter of when they're going to produce and at what level.  It's a matter of roster spots. 

We have 5, maybe 6 spots to dedicate to the WR position. DJax/Reagor/JJAW are locks.  Ward is a likely lock as well.  Goodwin/Hightower/Watkins are and can be legit 5th/6th WR's on the roster.

It's a crowded depth chart now, and there is not one thing Alshon gives us that the others cannot.  If anything, we've clearly moved away from Alshon's skill set entirely with the exception of JJAW. 

We are going to keep at least 6 wide receivers. There is not one thing that Alshon gives us that the others cannot? Come on. Who is a red zone threat apart from Alshon? Who can box out DBs apart from Alshon? 

Of the guys on the roster, you have one other than Alshon who has shown himself to be a legitimate starting receiver and that guy will turn 34 and cannot stay healthy.

They will find a way to stash at least one of Hightower or Watkins, either on IR or on the practice squad. I suspect Goodwin doesn't make it, or is just a placeholder in case Alshon isn't ready or DJax gets hurt.

 

9 hours ago, ManchesterEagle said:

WR group is crowded yes, but look at what we have:

1) Jackson - good player, but will turn 34 and coming off a lost season. Even if it all goes to plan, we can expect him to miss 3-6 games with hamstring issues etc.

2) Ward - played really well at the end of last year, but against weak teams. Hopefully he can keep it up and develop, but doesn't have size or speed and is better suited for the slot.

3) Reagor - high hopes for this kid, but will not have a proper offseason and will work in at the Z and slot positions.

4) JJAW - this is your best hope for keeping Jeffery off the field, as he is in theory a natural replacement. Will need to improve substantially from last year.

5) Goodwin - Goodwin sucks. He really does. He can't catch or run underneath routes and is a 29 year old speed receiver with chronic knee issues. The 49ers, who are really thin at WR, couldn't wait to get rid of him. He is a flyer/vet insurance.

6/7) Hightower and Watkins. Late round flyers. How many late round WRs turn into viable starters? Very few indeed. Chances are neither will be ready to see the field, let alone play meaningful snaps.

Meanwhile you have Jeffery, who you are stuck with anyway because of his contract. Jeffery has played hurt plenty of times and he is still an effective and legitimate starting NFL WR. They are not easy to come by. If and when he is healthy he needs to play. We are not good enough at WR to IR him.

 

 

4 hours ago, hukdonfoniks said:

In the past two offseasons, they drafted four WR's.  Two of them were high picks.  Three of them are speed WR's, a much needed skill set Alshon doesn't have.  The other one is Alshon's exact skill set. 

They traded for a veteran WR who has legit Olympic-level speed. 

They also have Jackson who clearly isn't going anywhere this season.

They also have Ward who proved himself a reliable WR. 

 

What about any of that looks good for Alshon?

 

These posts show that if you like Alshon, you can make a case why ever other WR on the team sucks or is a question mark not to be relied on.  And if you don't like Alshon, you can make a case why everyone else is better or has more potential.

First of all, Jeffrey will be on IR for a significant portion of the beginning of the season.  That alone means there's a roster spot for another WR at least until he returns. So the first bunch of games, Jeffrey isn't available anyway so let's deal with who's left. They could keep all the WRs and designate 1 on special teams, they could stash one on the practice squad.

Remember waiting for Wallace and Howard and other players to return from IR only to have their mysterious injuries prolonged?  The Eagles don't have to make decisions until Jeffrey is set to return.  If the other WRs are playing great and they don't want to bring him back, he'll mysteriously develop a prolonged injury that puts him on IR the whole year.  If the WRs aren't doing well, watch Jeffrey make a miraculous recovery and come back to play.

 

4 minutes ago, NOTW said:

 

 

These posts show that if you like Alshon, you can make a case why ever other WR on the team sucks or is a question mark not to be relied on.  And if you don't like Alshon, you can make a case why everyone else is better or has more potential.

First of all, Jeffrey will be on IR for a significant portion of the beginning of the season.  That alone means there's a roster spot for another WR at least until he returns. So the first bunch of games, Jeffrey isn't available anyway so let's deal with who's left. They could keep all the WRs and designate 1 on special teams, they could stash one on the practice squad.

Remember waiting for Wallace and Howard and other players to return from IR only to have their mysterious injuries prolonged?  The Eagles don't have to make decisions until Jeffrey is set to return.  If the other WRs are playing great and they don't want to bring him back, he'll mysteriously develop a prolonged injury that puts him on IR the whole year.  If the WRs aren't doing well, watch Jeffrey make a miraculous recovery and come back to play.

 

Yeah look - the timetable was the start of September - but NFL averages suggest 10-11 months as more realistic and it could take up to 12 months.

I have no issue with taking a wait and see approach, but I am just saying that those who want to IR Jeffery for the year no matter what are letting their hate for Jeffery cloud their judgement.

If Jeffery is done fair enough. If the young guys outplay him, then also fair enough.

But 700 yard 8 TDs receivers aren't easy to come by and that is a reasonable floor for Jeffery, even if he's not healthy (pro rata based on the games that he actually plays).

So yeah - let's wait and see, but the Eagles need to be open minded.

22 minutes ago, NOTW said:

 

 

These posts show that if you like Alshon, you can make a case why ever other WR on the team sucks or is a question mark not to be relied on.  And if you don't like Alshon, you can make a case why everyone else is better or has more potential.

First of all, Jeffrey will be on IR for a significant portion of the beginning of the season.  That alone means there's a roster spot for another WR at least until he returns. So the first bunch of games, Jeffrey isn't available anyway so let's deal with who's left. They could keep all the WRs and designate 1 on special teams, they could stash one on the practice squad.

Remember waiting for Wallace and Howard and other players to return from IR only to have their mysterious injuries prolonged?  The Eagles don't have to make decisions until Jeffrey is set to return.  If the other WRs are playing great and they don't want to bring him back, he'll mysteriously develop a prolonged injury that puts him on IR the whole year.  If the WRs aren't doing well, watch Jeffrey make a miraculous recovery and come back to play.

 

The other issue is you can only have 2 players on the IR designated to come back. So if the offense is doing well enough and the receivers are playing well and they need that IR spot for someone else they want to comeback they could end up cutting Jeffery before he even comes back. 

52 minutes ago, ManchesterEagle said:

Jeffery hasn't been healthy since he's been here. But a 70% Jeffery is still an effective starting wide receiver and red zone threat. If he can get back to that, then he can help.

I just do not know when we see even a 70% Jeffery. He has a lot to prove to a lot of people when he gets back. Howie was a fool to give him that contract.

9 minutes ago, ManchesterEagle said:

Yeah look - the timetable was the start of September - but NFL averages suggest 10-11 months as more realistic and it could take up to 12 months.

I have no issue with taking a wait and see approach, but I am just saying that those who want to IR Jeffery for the year no matter what are letting their hate for Jeffery cloud their judgement.

If Jeffery is done fair enough. If the young guys outplay him, then also fair enough.

But 700 yard 8 TDs receivers aren't easy to come by and that is a reasonable floor for Jeffery, even if he's not healthy (pro rata based on the games that he actually plays).

So yeah - let's wait and see, but the Eagles need to be open minded.

Jeffrey is in a situation like Peters - still gas left in the tank but you're going to deal with injuries, slowing down with age and all that.  

The thing is the Eagles don't have to make any decision today on this.  They will get into camp and preseason and see how the new WRs are doing.  It's all hypothetical until then.  And they'll be monitoring Jeffrey's return.  

As I said before, the top receiving threats include the 2 TEs who are both better options than any other WR besides Jackson and Jeffrey.  So with Jeffrey on IR, Carson is throwing to Ertz, Jackson, Goedert and probably Reagor in that order.  Anyone else will be lucky to get a couple catches a game.  So Ward, JJAW, Goodwin, Hightower and Wakins are all competing to basically be backups and make a few plays here and there or step up to make more plays upon injury.  

At some point, Jackson could get hurt again and Jeffrey is out there with the other young guys.  Hard to say.  

I think what hukd was trying to say is that Jeffrey and Jackson are biding time until their contracts are up.  They wanted to get younger, and drafted 4 WRs in 2 years and 2 of them high.  You draft a 1st and 2nd round WR back to back your're pretty much expecting them to start within a year.

They don't cut rookies, if anything they stash on the PS. They want to get younger and want to develop these guys for the future. 

3 minutes ago, EazyEaglez said:

I just do not know when we see even a 70% Jeffery. He has a lot to prove to a lot of people when he gets back. Howie was a fool to give him that contract.

If they cut him I don’t even think there would be much of a market to be honest. It was a horrible contract and on virtually every team in the league but ours he’d be the fourth option at best.