Philadelphia Eagles: Should Jordan Matthews come back to Philly?

After being shipped off to Buffalo in the Ronald Darby deal, should the Philadelphia Eagles consider bringing back Jordan Matthews in 2018?

When the Philadelphia Eagles traded away fourth-year wide receiver Jordan Matthews one week into the 2017 NFL preseason it wasn’t exactly a popular move in the City of Brotherly Love.

Sure, the addition of Ronald Darby, an immensely talented 23-year-old cornerback with lockdown potential, to their fledgling secondary was crucial, but having to trade away a 2018 third round pick, and their top receiver form the previous four seasons was a tough pill to swallow.

While the trade was mutually beneficial for both parties, as the Eagles desperately needed to fortify the cornerback position, and the Bills had no clear-cut number one receiver after trading away Sammy Watkins and Anquan Boldin‘s abrupt retirement, neither team really got the production they anticipated when they pulled the trigger on their blockbuster deal.

In the Eagles’ first game of the season, Darby was carted off the field with an ankle injury and would go on to miss the next 10 games if the season, returning in Week 11 to face off against the Cowboys in Dallas, Texas. Though the team obviously could have used the former Florida State Seminole in key matchups against star receivers like Tyreek Hill, or Keenan Allen over the first two months of the season, Darby has shown in his limited time on the field that he has the potential to be a seriously good player for the Eagles worthy of signing to a second contract.

The same, however, can not be said for Matthews’ season in Buffalo.

After suffering a chest injury during literally his first practice with Sean McDermott‘s squad, Matthews struggled to get into the swing of things in his new home, and at times, looked like a shell of his former self. In his10 games with the Bills, the former Vanderbilt Commodore only caught 25 passes for 282 yards and a single touchdown before heading to IR on December 5th, by far the worst numbers of his career thus far by a considerable margin. Needless to say, he probably won’t be back in 2018.

But with Matthews set to become a free agent in March, and his perceived value around the league at presumably an all-time low, could a reunion be brewing between Matthews and his former team?

While the Eagles’ receiving core has been noticeably better in 2017 they’ve been in a long time, with three different receivers recording over 750 yards, they’re still far from an elite unit.

Even though the team appears to have locked up their X and Z receivers for the foreseeable future, as well as having one of the league’s premier tight ends, they’ve struggled mightily to get production from the Y position. Whether it be Torrey Smith, Mack Hollins, Marcus Johnson or Shelton Gibson, the total lack of production from the team’s “deep play” vertical receiving threat has, at times, limited Doug Pederson‘s play calling abilities, and allowed opposing defenses to cue in on the team’s primary playmakers.

While Smith, Nelson Agholor and Alshon Jeffery are virtual locks to at least start off 2018 as the Eagles’ starting receivers, the team could seriously use an injection of talent to really take the position group to the next level.

Now granted, the team very well could, and probably will, draft a wide receiver at some point in the 2018 NFL draft, but if Howie Roseman has an opportunity to add a young player who’s already thrived in Pederson’s system on a value, prove it deal, why wouldn’t he?

Sure, Matthews has had the majority of his production out of the slot, a position Agholor has thrived in, and isn’t exactly a deep play threat, but giving Carson Wentz back one of his favorite, sure-handed possession receivers to pair with Zach Ertz, Agholor and Jeffery may be simply too good to pass up, especially when you consider that Matthews and Wentz were incredibly close not only on the field but off it as well.

Reinserting Matthew into Pederson’s offense would likely take some pressure off of Jeffery, and allow the former Bear to step into the team’s big-play receiver role, a position he thrived in when paired with Brandon Marshall in Chicago. While Smith was successful at times stretching the field, his inability to bring the ball inconsistently, with only a 52-percent completion rate in 2017 made him far too risky of a bet to take on make or break plays. Deploying Jeffery on more go routes, while allowing Matthews, Ertz, and Agholor to mine the middle of the field for gold, could be an absolute godsend for Wentz’s continued development in Year 3.

Having three receivers, and a tight end, who are legitimate receiving threats at all three levels of the field, in addition to a hard-nosed power back like Jay Ajayi who can run inside and outside, could finally turn Pederson’s offense into one of the leagues premier units, and may very well be the missing piece to another championship run, hopefully with a healthy Wentz under center.

While the Eagles are currently incredibly cap strapped going into the 2018 season, with the team currently over the cap by over $7 million, if they can bring Matthews in on a one year, prove it deal for not much money, it would be incredibly hard to pass up, especially when you consider that the team will more likely than not purge themselves of atleast a few overpriced veterans, like Vinny Curry, and potentially Smith, to free up cap space to pay their rookie class, and sign free agents, like Nigel Bradham, Trey Burton or someone not currently on the roster.

Next: The Philadelphia Eagles are underdogs and that is perfectly okay

Adding Matthews to the team may not be a home run, but for a team with virtually no cap space, and only one draft pick in the first three rounds of the 2018 NFL Draft, the ability to add a relatively young, starting caliber receiver on the cheap, even if it’s only for one season, is a championship caliber move.

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