The Philadelphia Eagles are still trying to trade Alshon Jeffery

The Philadelphia Eagles are still looking to offload Alshon Jeffery.

In what should come as a surprise to absolutely no-one, the Philadelphia Eagles are still actively pursuing a trade partner for veteran WR Alshon Jeffery. The disgruntled pass-catcher has essentially been on the trade block for the last two years now, without any takers being found.

With the 2020 trade deadline just over a week away at this point in time, it’s been reported that Jeffery is “very available”. It’s still hard to imagine a deal getting pulled off as we waltz into the deadline, but I guess it’s possible a WR-needy team like the Packers comes calling at the last second.

Ever since the team’s magical 2017 season, the Alshon Jeffery experience has been a bit of a disaster for Philadelphia. He dropped a crucial pass in the 2018 Divisional Round, bashed Carson Wentz “anonymously” on two separate occasions, and has barely managed to stay on the practice field. He’s missed 14 consecutive games at this point in time, and it’s truly hard to imagine a scenario where he’s on the roster come 2021.

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Even with the Philadelphia Eagles currently sat in first place at the moment, the appeal to play someone like Jeffery just isn’t there anymore. He’s coming off a nasty foot injury, and he was already showing signs of regression during the 2019 season. His yards per reception number had dipped to a career low 11.4, and he was showcasing some major drop issues as well (58.9% catch rate).

Throw in the fact that he’s stirred up locker room issues surrounding the team’s franchise QB on two separate occasions, and there’s a real argument to be made that simply keeping him away from the team is the best option moving forward. The Eagles have found a diamond in the rough in Travis Fulgham, and taking snaps away from him to reincorporate a slow and aging Jeffery makes little to no sense.

When it comes to a hypothetical trade market for Jeffery, teams around the league know all of the above mentioned concerns as well. Opposing general managers aren’t rushing to trade for a washed up veteran, and Jeffery’s insane $18 million cap hit next season makes it even more difficult to justify. It’s possible that Roseman could lure a team into taking him (and his salary) on by way of a draft pick, but even that seems unlikely at this point in time.

The extension that the Eagles handed out to Jeffery following the 2017 season has turned out to be a disaster, and Roseman’s decision to guarantee the last two years on his contract makes it that much worse. Roseman can make Alshon “very available” all he wants, but it’s impossibly hard to imagine him getting dealt over the next week or so.

Hopefully the Eagles don’t try to force him back into the offense, and they just let him ride out the 2020 season on the bench. Roseman can then cut him in 2021, inducing a $10 million dead cap hit. While that’s definitely really bad, it’s nothing compared to the $26 million dead cap number that he would induce should the team release him now.