Analyzing DeSean Jackson's New Contract

Two weeks ago, I speculated that the Eagles franchise tag and DeSean Jackson’s acceptance of it could help bring the two sides together on a long term deal. With the threat of separation and the lack of respect behind them, it appears that’s exactly what happened. Reports differ on whether Jackson actually signed the tender or not, but regardless they were able to find common ground before it came to that.

From looking at the details of the contract, as reported by Pro Football Talk, it seems that both sides compromised somewhat. The Eagles came up from their absurdly low $6 million per year reported offer, and in exchange Jackson didn’t extract the maximum guaranteed money he likely could have received on the open market.

As it stands now, the deal (before Pro Bowl/Super Bowl escalators) looks like so:

2012: $10 million signing bonus plus $1 million base salary/workout bonus.
2013: $7 million salary/workout, $4 million fully guaranteed with rest for injury only.
2014: $10.5 million salary/workout.
2015: $10 million salary/workout.
2016: $8.5 million salary/workout.

What it comes down to, as far as I can tell, is basically a guaranteed two year, $18 million contract with three team option years in which Jackson’s paid very well in base salary but the team can move on from him if necessary.

It clearly helped to have other wide receivers signing long term deals recently. Look at the guaranteed money those players received:

Stevie Johnson, Bills: $18 million.
Marques Colston, Saints: $19 million.
Pierre Garçon, Redskins: $13-18 million.
Vincent Jackson, Bucs: $26 million.

DeSean didn’t get Vincent Jackson money, but he slots in quite comfortably among the other top wide receivers. DJacc’s full contract over five years is bigger than the other guys, but the money at the end isn’t guaranteed, making it somewhat of a “prove it” deal for the wide receiver. If he keeps his head on straight and plays up to his potential, Jackson could make more than most of the rest of them over the life of the deal.

All in all, it’s a happy day for Eagles fans. You simply don’t win in the NFL without retaining your top talent, and the Eagles came perilously close to not doing so. Now the nearly two year drama of Jackson’s status is over, and with any luck he will take to the field with a renewed purpose, showing us that his best years are yet to come.

Photo from Getty.

Lessons From the First Day of Free Agency

Day one of free agency is in the books, and it was an interesting, if not groundbreaking day for Eagles fans. Let’s break down what we’ve learned so far.

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A rebirth of the old Eagles way? The team took the first day to negotiate extensions for two of its longest-tenured players, Todd Herremans and Trent Cole. It was a nice return to the days pre-2009 when the Eagles built mostly from within. It’s also an important precedent to set with the players. Basically since Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown were unceremoniously dumped, the front office and the players have had a relationship built on animosity and mistrust. Young players like DeSean Jackson have battled with the organization rather than sign mutually-beneficial long-term deals.

Jonathan Tamari has the money quote from Todd Herremans: “The Eagles have been known for a while as a team that doesn’t take care of their draft picks and pays everyone else’s as picks and players. I think they’re trying to change that stigma that they have.”

By showing that you can get more money by playing the good soldier and dealing with your contract issues behind the scenes, the Eagles made a big step toward repairing that relationship and establishing veteran role models for the less experienced players to look up to.

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Wide receivers are getting paid. Three of the best wide receivers on the market signed yesterday. Vincent Jackson went to Tampa Bay, getting 5 years, $55.55 million, with $26 million guaranteed. Marques Colston stayed with the Saints at the last minute, for 5 years, $40 million and $19 million guaranteed. Finally, Pierre Garçon stole 5 years, $42.5 million and $21.5 million guaranteed from the Redskins.

Seem of these numbers are artificially inflated in the final years, but DeSean Jackson and Drew Rosenhaus have to be looking at those guarantees and salivating.

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Free agency for the Eagles is 85% about linebacker. And nothing happened on that front yet. Curtis Lofton, Stephen Tulloch, and David Hawthorne are all still available, and until those dominos start falling we won’t be able to judge the Eagles front office one way or another.

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If I ever became an NFL general manager, I would have to remember one thing: don’t sign second-tier free agents on the first day. If you need to move fast on the biggest name out there, that’s fine. But don’t throw big money at guys who aren’t major difference-makers. That’s known as the Redskins’ strategy.

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5 Eagles Veterans Likely to be Cut for Cap Space

Free agency is nearly upon us, and the Eagles have just under $10 million available to spend. Some of that money will hopefully go toward locking up young stars like LeSean McCoy. Other funds will be freed up when they trade Asante Samuel (sooner, rather than later if they want to make any free agent splash).

But there are some veteran players they can cut if they need more room under the salary cap. Here are the most five most likely, with numbers from Eagles Cap:

Jamaal Jackson — Cap Savings: $1.9 million
Jackson really should have been gone last offseason. Jason Kelce may not have been that good, but he’s the future at center.

Winston Justice — Cap Savings: $2.3 million
Justice is only two years removed from signing that long term extension. But then he was inconsistent in 2010, injured in 2011. Presumably the Eagles will retain King Dunlap as swing tackle, making Justice expendable. And with his $4 million price tag, no one is going to be clamoring for him in a trade.

Darryl Tapp — Cap Savings: $1.6 million
Compared to other NFL defensive ends, Tapp played well in a rotational role last year. But compared to other Eagles players, he generated the least pressure. Why keep him around when you can get the same or potentially better production out of Philip Hunt, at one-fifth the cost?

Joselio Hanson — Cap Savings: $1 million
The Eagles already cut Hanson once right before last season, and he’s turning 31 this year. Depending on how the coaches view the progression of young corners like Curtis Marsh and Brandon Hughes, they may decide it’s time to give them a try instead.

Moise Fokou & Akeem Jordan — Cap Savings: $1.3 million
Alright, so this is two players. But both Fokou and Jordan are expendable, low-upside pieces at a position that the Eagles are likely to add anywhere from two to four new players this offseason.

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Tommy Lawlor's Master Offseason Plan

Tommy gives us what his plan of attack would be:

First, I’m not all that active in free agency. It occurred to me the other day that the last 2 Super Bowl winners were very quiet in FA in the year they actually won. Les Bowen wrote about this dynamic on Monday (great minds think alike, I guess). I think we need to learn from these teams. Stability and continuity are important. Sometimes you are better off letting the FAs and draft picks already on your roster develop and figure things out.

Go read the whole thing, as he takes you from free agency through the draft. Overall I agree with Tommy’s arguments. I’d be happy with Hawthorne on the outside and Kuechly in the middle. However, it’s important to note that in this scenario the Eagles would probably also sign someone now for the middle linebacker spot. Someone like Dan Connor would be a plausible option to keep them from seeming too desperate for Kuechly in the first round and back the rookie up later if he were to falter.

Kudos to Dan Snyder

There was a lot more hand-wringing and bad-mouthing than I expected regarding Washington’s big trade to jump up to the second pick in the draft. And yes, absolutely the cost for Robert Griffin III was high. The risk may be even higher. But even so, the Redskins front office deserves high marks for executing this dramatic move.

One of the paramount truths of today’s NFL is that your franchise is irrelevant unless it has an elite quarterback. I don’t mean that you absolutely can’t win. Teams can go far in the playoffs or even win a Super Bowl with some luck, timing, and roster dominance in other areas (See: 2011 Broncos, 2000 Ravens). I mean that you are unable to sustain or count on success.

Teams that don’t have a franchise QB grasp at straws year after year. They do what the Redskins have done. They throw second-tier, underprepared youngsters into the role and hope they succeed. They cycle through overpriced veterans past their prime and flawed journeyman. It’s the most pathetic of struggles, as the front office just tries to keep their team above water.

Since Dan Snyder bought that team in 1999, they have had seven different single-season passing leaders. It’s been a murderer’s row of Brad Johnson, Tony Banks, Patrick Ramsey, Mark Brunell, Jason Campbell, old Donovan McNabb, and Rex Grossman. Yuck.

Andy Reid is not a perfect coach, but he understands this better than anyone. He didn’t hesitate to draft Donovan McNabb, and reared him into a top quarterback. When Reid saw the end of McNabb’s career, he snared Kevin Kolb to carry the torch. And now he’s settled on Michael Vick for at least the next couple of years. All three of those quarterbacks, even Kolb, would have been upgrades over the slop the Redskins have tolerated over the last decade. Reid never would have let himself go that long without a real franchise quarterback.

Regardless of how it turns out, the Redskins should be applauded for finally grasping that half measures aren’t enough. Another couples of years stumbling along with more free agent castoffs or another mediocre prospect would have gotten that front office fired anyway. At some point, you might as well try something that could actually work.

Photo from Getty.

The Michael Vick Project

Greg Cosell, for NFL Films:

There’s a critical distinction in the development of NFL quarterbacks. It’s the difference between understanding defenses, and manipulating defenses, the divide between the concrete and the conceptual. Understanding defenses is the first step in the process. It allows you to register and process what you see. Manipulating defenses before the snap of the ball is the Ph.D of NFL quarterbacking. The great ones, like Brady, Brees, and now Rodgers and Manning, know where the defense will move after the snap. Their decisions are almost always made in the pre snap phase. Nothing that occurs after the snap surprises them. They play proactively, not reactively. As a Patriots offensive coach once told me, the magic with Brady occurs before the ball is snapped.

Vick must get to that point in his development. That comes from off-season work, something he has not had as a starter in 6 years. Vick needs to play the position as a disciplined craft, not as a spontaneous playmaker. That road will always lead to disappointment and frustration.

The Andy & Les Show

Les Bowen got some prized one-on-one time with everyone’s favorite evasive head coach, and pulled a few good nuggets to share with the group.

Andy has spoken to DeSean Jackson since the franchising of the wideout last week. “I think he’ll sign the tender,” Reid said. “He was very positive about it.” Reid reiterated what he said last month, that the attitude change down the stretch convinced him he could go forward with Jackson, after a rough middle of the season. “That was important,” Andy said. I don’t have a good quote that conveys it, but I got the sense Reid absolutely expects to have Jackson here.

The evidence continues to mount that DeSean’s midseason stretch of poor play and the infamous alarm clock incident scared him straight. Whatever happens between the wide receiver and the team long term, Jackson can’t afford to look like the villain.

Reid sees Mike Kafka as his No. 2 QB in 2012, with Trent Edwards maybe No. 3, depending on how he does and what else develops, via the draft, for instance.

Surprising that Andy didn’t even try to play up Edwards for the third quarterback spot. He’s just keeping the seat warm for somebody else. The questions about Kafka remain.