No, the Philadelphia Eagles shouldn’t re-sign Timmy Jernigan
The Philadelphia Eagles are already overloaded at defensive tackle.
After reportedly agreeing to sign a one-year deal worth $3.75 with the Houston Texans on April 1st, Timmy Jernigan is officially back on the open market, at least according to the Instagram page of one loko_indacut (aka Timmy Jernigan).
While details on exactly why the assumed ‘done deal’ suddenly deteriorated are still rather sparse, there is already a small, but vocal segment of fans online suggesting a potential reunion between the Philadelphia Eagles and their former interior rusher.
Yeah, that’s probably not going to happen – and probably shouldn’t.
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As you may or may not already know, the Eagles are pretty loaded at defensive tackle. Between incumbent starters Fletcher Cox and Malik Jackson, and the addition of Pittsburg Steelers transplant Javon Hargrave, the Eagles currently have three defensive tackles under contract for over $10 million a year who could legit start for every other team in the NFL. If Jernigan were to sign on the dotted line, he would realistically be the team’s fourth option on the interior, third maybe if Jackson kick outside to defensive end full time (which he won’t).
Now I know Jernigan is pretty darn position versatile, as he played defensive end for the Baltimore Ravens from 2014-16, defensive tackle for the Eagles from 2017-19, and was presumably going to replace D.J. Reader on the interior at nose tackle for the Houston Texans in 2020, but it’s hard to imagine 6-foot-2, 295-pound native Floridian earning more than 300-400 snaps on the season this fall with Cox, Jackson, and Hargrave in front of him on Jim Schwartz’s depth chart.
At 28, does Jernigan really want to be a part-time player when he doesn’t have to be?
By returning to the open market now, Jernigan actually has a pretty interesting oppertunity to earn an even bigger deal and/or find a bigger role moving forward. Typically, teams like to fill potential holes on their roster in free agency and then use the draft to fill out their depth chart. If, for some reason, a team like, say, the Steelers lost an interior rusher in free agency (Hargrave) and then struck out again in the draft, they could in theory jump on a chance to insert Jernigan into a starting role on their defense, and potentially pay a premium to do so.
Alternatively, a team like the Kansas City Cheifs, who are currently at a contractual impasse with their star interior rusher Chris Jones, may view Jernigan as a cheaper option to fill a similar role and could opt to lock him up on a long-term deal to save cap space for players like Patrick Mahomes, and Frank Clark moving forward.
Factor in the presence of Hassan Ridgeway, the 6-foot-3, 305-pound defensive tackle Howie Roseman traded a sixth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft to acquire, and it’s hard to fathom the Philadelphia Eagles’ even offering Jernigan a deal unless he is willing to work for the veteran minimum. While Ridgeway isn’t the biggest, fastest, or strongest player in the league, he picked up two sacks on 248 defensive snaps last season and clearly shined enough to earn a new one-year contract extension before the team even engaged in contract discussions with Hargrave. As a fourth defensive tackle, a team can could certainly do worse, as evidenced by the Eagles collection of mid-season signings in 2019.
Jernigan is still a good player who could conceivably start for a dozen or so defensive lines across the NFL, but his time in the City of Brotherly Love is probably over.
Next. Jeffrey Lurie’s measured statement is rather shallow. dark
If the Philadelphia Eagles do opt to add another body to their defensive line, it will probably come at defensive end, as the team could certainly use a bit more pop coming off the edge. Barring injury or a stagnant market that extends deep into the summer, it’s pretty safe to assume defensive tackle is near the bottom of the Eagles’ wish list.