One clear conclusion from Malcolm Jenkins' Saints contract – NBC Sports Philadelphia, Nbcsports.com

Malcolm Jenkins ’new contract with the Saints raises a lot more questions than it answers.

One thing is clear: This clearly wasn’t about the money.

Here’s what we know:

-> Jenkins was due to earn $ 7. million from the Eagles in , the final year of a four-year, $ million restructure he signed before the (season.)

-> Jenkins said in January he wouldn’t play here in 790441 under terms of that deal. A source familiar with his thinking told NBC Sports Philadelphia he wanted a deal in the neighborhood of $ (to $) million and wanted to be one of the five highest-paid safeties in the league

-> After the Eagles cut ties with Jenkins on Tuesday, he agreed to contract terms just one day later with the Saints.

-> Jordan Schultz of ESPN reported Wednesday evening that Jenkins’ deal with the Saints is worth $ 49 million over four years, with incentives that could bring the total value to $ 82 million. It includes $ . 32 million in guaranteed money. Not only is he not one of the five highest-paid safeties in the league, he’s 21 th.

# Saints have agreed to terms with safety Malcolm Jenkins, per source.

The terms are as follows:

Four years, $ M – up to (max – with $) 32 guaranteed.

– Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) (March) ,

If Jenkins was so adamant about making top-five safety money, why did he sign so quickly with the saints for a deal averaging more than $ 5 million less than he was looking for?

If Jenkins was willing to play for $ 8 million a year – and we don’t know the annual base salaries yet but the earlier years are likely worth less than the later years – why did he just stay here? He may have actually taken a pay cut.

If Jenkins was cool with $ 8 million a year, why not just stay here? And if all it took to sign him was $ 8 million a year, why wouldn’t the Eagles just pay him that?

There’s only one conclusion, and that’s the Eagles just didn’t want Jenkins to be an Eagle anymore.

And it sure seems like the feeling was mutual.

Strange situation.

Jenkins is an all-time great Eagle. Three Pro Bowls in six seasons, a huge part of the 2020 Super Bowl defense, an unquestioned leader in the locker room (at least unquestioned by anybody other than Orlando Scandrick).

But he’s also years old on a Team whose general manager is committed to a youth movement and building for the long-term, not the short term.

“We need to infuse youth in this team,” Howie Roseman said on Jan. 7. “You have to let young players play.”

And he added: “One of my weaknesses is getting attached to our players.”

So Jenkins is back with the Saints, who drafted him in the first round out of Ohio State back in

And the Eagles move forward without a guy who in many ways was the heart and soul of this team for the last half decade.

It should be a sad, emotional farewell, but all the evidence says this is exactly how both sides wanted it to end.

Click here to download the MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device. More on the Eagles Remember the time Malcolm Jenkins gave his new coach the finger? Foles to the Bears brings up 5 very wild Eagles connections Nick Foles is reportedly returning to NFC after a trade Malcolm Jenkins returned heading back to New Orleans Eagles reportedly did speak to Texans about DeAndre Hopkins trade

                

         

After missing out on high-priced free agent Bryon Jones earlier this week, it appears the Eagles are prepared to get more creative to fix their glaring need at cornerback.

Late on Wednesday night, we learned the Eagles are in trade discussions with the Lions about Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay and are also working on a three-year extension as a part of that trade, according to ESPN’s Josina Anderson.

told there are ongoing discussions right now regarding the framework of a 3-year extension as part of a trade that would send CB Darius Slay to the (# Eagles , per source. – ig: josinaanderson (@JosinaAnderson) (March

,  

The Eagles have shown interest in Slay for a while now, even dating back to last season. While Slay is , he has been a Pro Bowler in each of the last three seasons and would immediately improve what has been a very shaky cornerback situation for the Eagles in recent years.

Slay is in the final year of his current contract with a base salary of $ (million in) . It seems like a trade between the Eagles and Lions would be contingent on getting a new deal worked out.

Last season, Slay was targeted times and gave up (catches for yards, 3 TDs but also had 2 INTs, according to ProFootballFocus.

Back in February, I explored the pros and cons of a trade for Slay. Here’s a brief summary:

Pros: although he’s 35, Slay has been a perennial Pro Bowler in Detroit while often traveling to cover the opponent’s top receiver. Jim Schwartz has been hesitant to do that in Philly, but that’s likely because he hasn’t had a cornerback of Slay’s caliber.

Everyone knows the Lions want to trade Slay and that he wants to be traded, so compensation might not be massive.

And Jim Schwartz has some familiarity with Slay; Schwartz was the Lions’ head coach in his rookie season in .

Cons: We might have seen a slight drop-off in play from Slay in and he obviously wants a new contract, which would be a part of this deal.

And the Eagles would have to give up something to get him in a trade, unlike if they just signed a free agent.

Earlier on Thursday, the Lions reached a deal with former Atlanta Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant, which seemed to signal that a Slay trade could be imminent.

At least that’s what Slay was thinking:

Congrats to my guy !!!! Hope that speeds up my trade process !! https://t.co/ ZQHO3NCGuE – Darius Slay (@_bigplayslay

) (March) ,  

After spending his first seven NFL seasons in Detroit, the former second-round pick from Mississippi State (where he was teammates with Fletcher Cox) seems ready to move on.

And the Eagles should be ready to finally improve their cornerback situation.

Click here to download the MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device. More on the Eagles Harris and Trufant gone, free agent CB options for Eagles continue to dry up One clear conclusion from Malcolm Jenkins’ Saints contract Remember the time Malcolm Jenkins gave his new coach the finger? Foles to the Bears brings up 5 very wild Eagles connections Nick Foles is reportedly returning to NFC after a trade

                

         

If you haven’t noticed, the Eagles haven’t done much yet in free agency to address their glaring need at cornerback.

At the beginning of the week, the Eagles targeted Byron Jones but were priced out. Jones ended up taking a five-year, $ million deal in Miami. And James Bradberry went to the Giants. And Trae Waynes to the Bengals. And Kendall Fuller to the Redskins.

And then on Wednesday evening, two of the top remaining corners on the market, Chris Harris and Desmond Trufant, found new homes on deals that will pay them around $ million per season.

The Chris Harris Jr. deal with the (#Chargers is for 2 years and 25 million per source. He had several other suiters and Harris picked the Chargers. – James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) (March) ,

 

CB Desmond Trufant is signing with the # Lions , per source. The deal is for 2 years, $ M , $ M guaranteed. – Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) (March) ,

There’s not much left.

Trufant would have made a ton of sense. The – year-old just got released by the Falcons. In Atlanta, he played under Eagles new defensive backs coach Marquand Manuel and made his only career Pro Bowl. But you can forget that.

So what’s left?

One possible move might come in a trade. Now that the Lions brought in Trufant, they have even more of a reason to trade Darius Slay. The Eagles were reportedly interested in Slay as a possible mid-season trade target last year, so we know they like him.

Congrats to my guy !!!! Hope that speeds up my trade process !! https://t.co/ ZQHO3NCGuE – Darius Slay (@_bigplayslay

) (March) ,

Slay is now but he’s been a Pro Bowler in each of the last three seasons, even though his play level has declined some. And the Eagles have 13 draft picks in April, so they have the ammo to get Slay if they way.

Meanwhile, the list of potential free agents is slimming. But the Eagles are fine with being patient.

Here are some top names left on the market:

Logan Ryan Prince Amukamara

(Trumaine Johnson) Xavier Rhodes Mackensie Alexander

And if none of those guys work out, I hear Ronald Darby is still available.

Click here to download the MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device. More on the Eagles One clear conclusion from Malcolm Jenkins’ Saints contract Remember the time Malcolm Jenkins gave his new coach the finger? Foles to the Bears brings up 5 very wild Eagles connections Nick Foles is reportedly returning to NFC after a trade Malcolm Jenkins returned heading back to New Orleans

     

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