Philadelphia Eagles: 5 players most at risk of getting moved at the deadline
By David Esser
Malik Jackson
Somewhat surprisingly, Malik Jackson has looked really good since returning from last year’s season-ending foot injury. In seven games for the Philadelphia Eagles this season (he missed Week 7 due to injury), Jackson has recorded 11 QB hits and 1.5 sacks. He’s been incredibly disruptive up the middle as an interior pass rusher, and has thoroughly outplayed his fellow DT Javon Hargrave.
Jackson was the team’s big name defensive line addition in 2019, but he failed to even finish a single game, suffering a season-ending foot injury just moments into Week 1. People weren’t quite sure how he would look upon his return (hence why the team signed Hargrave), but he’s come back in stellar fashion.
However, the big problem with Jackson at the moment is of course his future contract. Jackson is owed $13 million in 2021, and it’s hard to imagine a world where the team can justify keeping him around with Hargrave and Fletcher Cox on their own respective giant deals.
The dead cap hit would be large if the Eagles were to trade him, but I guess it’s better than just having to flat out release him later down the road. Jackson has played really well this year, so his value is definitely one of the highest on the roster at the moment, which could lead to some half decent value coming back in return via a hypothetical trade.