Image courtesy of Standingosports.com
BACK in February, the Eagles offered Jeremy Maclin a 5-year deal, which he rejected. Instead he inked a 1-year deal that will allow him to show that he’s back from injury, and still has his skills. If it all goes well he should be able to cash in next year as free agent either with the Eagles or elsewhere.
My guess is that it’ll be elsewhere.
We drafted WR Jordan Matthews in the second round and on the very same night, Chip Kelly said: “He’ll start in the slot”. Kelly added, “If the other team wants to play their smallest cornerback in (the slot), they will have to deal with a 6-foot-3 guy over 200 pounds.”
Since Matthews will start, he’ll get plenty of opportunity to shine. The problem is there’s only one football. If Matthews shines really bright, it may look like he and not Maclin, is the Eagles most dynamic threat at WR.
The emergence of Matthews could seriously undercut Maclin’s market value next year. Keep in mind all of this already assumes that Maclin stays healthy. Anything less than that would be disastrous for him.
If the gamble works out for Maclin, great; but he may find himself wishing he’d signed that 5-year deal.
