HEADLINES

Timmy Jernigan

Eagles To Decline Timmy Jernigan’s Option

March 4th, 2019 at 4:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

Timmy Jernigan signed a four-year, $48MM extension late in the 2017 season. The Eagles are cutting bait after that deal’s first season.

The Eagles will not pick up the defensive tackle’s option, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). This was rumored to be in the works, and it will save the team $7MM. However, because of the early dismissal, the Eagles will eat $6MM in dead money.

After missing a chunk of last season because of an offseason injury, Jernigan will not head to the market with much steam. The Ravens traded him to the Eagles in 2017, and he performed well enough the eventual Super Bowl champions authorized a high-end extension. Jernigan played just 100 snaps last season, suiting up for just three regular-season games.

Howie Roseman has been busy recently, having authorized a new deal for Brandon Graham and extended Jason Kelce and Isaac Seumalo. The Eagles, who entered the day with barely $4MM in cap space, are also shopping Michael Bennett and his $7.2MM salary. Jernigan would have made $11MM in base salary next season.

NFC Rumors: Massie, Saints, Jernigan

January 26th, 2019 at 4:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

On the surface, the Saints reluctantly enter their offseason without many avenues to improve their roster. They traded away their 2019 first-, third- and fourth-round picks and stand to hold less than $20MM in cap space. However, they may be open to another extension that knocks down Drew Brees‘ NFL-high $33.5MM cap figure. Another place the team could look to for potential cap savings is Andrus Peat‘s contract. The 2015 first-round pick has a $9.625MM fifth-year option salary, but with those deals guaranteed for injury only, The Athletic’s Larry Holder writes (subscription required) the guard is not a lock to return to New Orleans in 2019. Four of the Saints’ top six cap charges stand to go to offensive linemen, and Peat graded out as Pro Football Focus’ worst full-time guard this season. Peat broke his hand in December, but having played in both New Orleans’ playoff games, passing the fifth-year option physical before the new league year seems like a decent bet.

As its Super Bowl LIII representative prepares to trek to Atlanta, here is the latest from the NFC:

  • With Bobby Massie re-signing to stay in Chicago long-term, the Bears knocked out a key piece of their offseason task list. They now have three of their starting offensive linemen signed to veteran contracts. Massie will become one of the highest-paid right tackles in the game, with Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweeting the 29-year-old blocker will earn more than $8MM annually. While guarantees and base salaries are not yet known, Massie will become the fifth right tackle to make $8MM-plus per year.
  • Shifting back to the Saints, they will lose a staffer to the college ranks. Offensive assistant Joe Brady will become LSU’s passing game coordinator, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic tweets. Brady spent two years with the Saints.
  • The Eagles signed Timmy Jernigan to a four-year, $48MM extension late in the 2017 season. But the reigning Super Bowl champs may be experiencing buyer’s remorse. Jernigan ($13MM cap hit in 2019) will not be back in Philly without a restructure, Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia writes. The Eagles would have to eat a $6MM dead-money charge by releasing the defensive tackle but would gain $7MM in cap savings. This marks the NFL’s worst cap situation, with the Eagles more than $14MM over the projected salary ceiling.

Eagles Activate DT Timmy Jernigan

November 20th, 2018 at 2:41pm CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles have activated defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan from the NFI (Non-Football Injury) list. To make room, they’ve waived fellow defensive tackle T.Y. McGill. 

Jernigan has been on the NFIO list since undergoing back surgery in May, but he returned to the practice field earlier this month. After a 48-7 drumming at the hands of the Saints, the Eagles can certainly use the help.

Jernigan, 26, started in 15 games for the Eagles last year plus the entirety of their Super Bowl run. In the regular season, Jernigan notched 29 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, and nine tackles for a loss.

The fifth-year pro will look to keep the 4-6 Eagles in the playoff fight upon his return. He’ll also look to secure his future in Philadelphia. After his operation, the Eagles pushed Jernigan to alter the remaining three years on his four-year, $48MM extension. Those seasons are now team option years with no guaranteed money.

Jernigan’s 2018 debut may come against the Giants on Sunday afternoon. It stands to reason that he will come off the bench in his first game back, offering support to Fletcher Cox and Haloti Ngata.

Eagles’ Timmy Jernigan Cleared To Practice

November 5th, 2018 at 1:35pm CST by Zachary Links

Eagles defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan has been cleared to return to practice, the team announced on Monday. Jernigan has been on the non-football injury list since undergoing back surgery in May, but he could be on the cusp of rejoining the team soon. 

The operation cost Jernigan the first half of the season and could also prove to be costly from a financial perspective. After the surgery, the Eagles pushed Jernigan to alter the remaining three years on his four-year, $48MM extension. Those seasons are now team option years with no guaranteed money, so Jernigan will have ample motivation when/if he returns to the field this year.

The Eagles boast one of the deepest defensive line units in the league and have held up well even without Jernigan on the field. They rank second in Football Outsiders‘ adjusted line yards and 14th in adjusted sack rate.

Despite the D-Line’s success, the Eagles have some critical games on the horizon, including a Nov. 18 date against Drew Brees and the Saints. They’re hoping to get Jernigan back on the field as soon as possible as they chase the Redskins for the NFC East crown.

Eagles Non-Committal On Timmy Jernigan’s Status

October 3rd, 2018 at 9:57pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Eagles defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan is currently on the non-football injury list after undergoing back surgery in May, and Philadelphia head coach Doug Pederson was non-committal on Jernigan’s status when speaking with reporters earlier today.

“He’s doing well, he’s making progress,” Pederson said, via Mike Kaye of NJ.com. “He’s a guy we’ll just continue to monitor. I don’t want to put a cap on him, don’t want to limit him anyway and any other expectation other than him getting better and healthy at this time.”

While that’s a seemingly innocuous quote, Pederson failed to commit to Jernigan returning this season, according to Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Per the NFL’s NFI rules, Jernigan must sit out for the Eagles’ first six games of the season. After that, Philadelphia will get a three-week window to decide whether Jernigan can return to practice, and another three-week window to activate him once he practices.

Jernigan was originally given a four-to-six month recovery timeline after having surgery, and he’s now entering the fifth month since that estimate. The operation affected Jernigan’s bottom line, as he agreed to a revised contract after undergoing the procedure. Jernigan had three years left on the four-year, $48MM extension he signed in 2017, but those seasons are now team option years with no guaranteed money.

With Jernigan sidelined, the Eagles have deployed Haloti Ngata (45% playtime) and Destiny Vaeao (32%) at defensive tackle alongside Fletcher Cox. The unit has held up well, ranking first in Football Outsiders‘ adjusted line yards and 13th in adjusted sack rate.

Eagles Cut Down To 53

September 1st, 2018 at 3:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Eagles’ receiving corps became a bit younger on Saturday. Two veterans brought in as possible depth pieces — Markus Wheaton and Kamar Aiken — were informed they will be released.

So was potential secondary cog De’Vante Bausby and rookie UDFA running back Josh Adams, given one of this year’s largest guarantees among the undrafted contingent. Philadelphia also placed safety Chris Maragos on its Reserve/PUP list, shelving him for at least six weeks.

Here are the players the Eagles will not be including on their initial 2018 53-man roster:

Released:

Waived:

Waived with an injury designation:

Placed on Reserve/NFI list:

Placed on Reserve/PUP list

Eagles’ Timmy Jernigan To Miss 4-6 Months

May 3rd, 2018 at 10:34am CST by Zachary Links

Eagles’ starting defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan underwent surgery on a herniated disc in his back last week, league sources tell Field Yates and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Recovery from that operation will take a while and he is expected to be out for four-to-six months. 

Even in a best case scenario, Jernigan’s availability for the season opener is in jeopardy. If it takes Jernigan closer to six months to recover, he could wind up missing the first half of the season

The good news for the Eagles is that they have a solid Plan B for Jernigan after signing Haloti Ngata this offseason. If Jernigan misses time, the Eagles will still have a formidable front four with Brandon Graham and Michael Bennett at defensive end with Ngata and Fletcher Cox in the middle.

The Eagles acquired Jernigan from the Ravens last April by moving down 25 spots in the third round of the draft. That proved to be a brilliant move for the Eagles, who later signed him to a four-year, $48MM extension.

Meanwhile, the Eagles and Jernigan have agreed to revise that contract, Yates reports (on Twitter). The final three years on the defensive tackle’s contract are now option years with no guaranteed money. The Eagles, he writes, will evaluate his health as part of the decision going forward.

Jernigan remains slated to carry a $5MM cap charge in 2018. He’ll carry cap hits of $13MM, $14MM, and $14MM in the following three seasons if he remains on board.

NFC East Rumors: Witten, Cowboys, Eagles

May 1st, 2018 at 9:31pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although Cowboys owner Jerry Jones doesn’t seem ready to admit it, tight end Jason Witten is fully expected to follow through on retirement and become an analyst for ESPN’s Monday Night Football, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link), who called Witten’s shift to the Worldwide Leader a “done deal.” If Witten does indeed hang up his cleats, he could be stuck in a thorny contractual issue with Dallas. The Cowboys converted $4.7MM of Witten’s base salary into a signing bonus earlier this year, but could now ask for that money back, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. Dallas released quarterback Tony Romo last summer, allowing him to retain all of his bonus money in the process, and it’s fair to wonder if the club will do the same for Witten, who is expected to command a salary of $4-4.5MM at ESPN.

Here’s more from the NFC East:

  • Despite not adding a single defensive back in last weekend’s draft, the Cowboys are not expected to have interest in free agent safeties Eric Reid, Kenny Vaccaro, or Tre Boston, reports Todd Archer of ESPN.com. Dallas did’t have any interest in either of the three veterans pre-draft and doesn’t believe any would fit its defensive scheme. For what’s it worth, the Cowboys reportedly tried to acquire Vaccaro at the 2017 trade deadline. Safeties in general have had a hard time generating buzz this offseason, with one agent telling Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com that defensive backs aren’t getting offers of even “one year, $3MM.” For now, Dallas will likely roll with Xavier Woods and Jeff Heath at safety after moving former first-round pick Byron Jones to cornerback.
  • If the Redskins had released defensive tackle Terrell McClain earlier this year (instead of on Monday), he’d likely already be back on the Cowboys roster, tweets David Moore of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Dallas picked up former second-round interior defender Jihad Ward from the Raiders in a draft-day exchange that sent wideout Ryan Switzer to Oakland, but they’re still expected to express interest in McClain. The 29-year-old McClain spent the 2014-16 campaigns in Dallas, and was a 15-game starter during his final season with the Cowboys.
  • Eagles defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan recently underwent surgery for a herniated disc, per Howard Eskin of WIP-FM (link via Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Inquirer). As such, Jernigan won’t participate in spring workouts but is fully expected to be ready for 2018 regular season. Philadelphia acquired Jernigan from the Ravens last April, sacrificing just a 25-slot drop in the third round in order to land the now-25-year-old. After a productive debut year with the Eagles, Jernigan inked a four-year, $48MM extension that should keep him in town through 2021.

NFC East Notes: Giants, Manning, Eagles

February 2nd, 2018 at 12:31pm CST by Zachary Links

If the Giants use the No. 2 overall pick on a quarterback, that’s just fine with Eli Manning.

“Obviously knowing I will be a New York Giant, that helped. Been told that, so that’s a starting point,” Manning said (via Art Stapleton of the Bergen Record). “Now just keep going about my job an learn this offense, obviously got to wait for spring and start back practicing with the team and get everybody up to speed.”

Manning also says that he is willing to help the Giants to mold a rookie quarterback, though he does not view that as his primary task:

“Yes, in a sense. I wouldn’t look at it as that role. I would look at it as my job to prepare and compete and be ready to play each and every game and in that process you’re always talking football,” Manning said. “You’re always helping out the guys in the room. With Davis Webb this year, with Geno [Smith], you’re always helping them out. Nothing changes. It’s about doing your job but also helping the other guys around you and having great communication in the quarterback room.”

Here’s more from the NFC East:

  • It sounds like the Eagles will have the services of defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan in the Super Bowl, even though he’s missed the last two days with an illness. “Because of the position and he’s one of our veteran guys, I do feel comfortable that he’ll be ready,” Pederson told a pool reporter (Twitter link via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer). This season, Jernigan ranked as the No. 33 ranked interior defender in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics, making him a quality partner for Fletcher Cox (ranked No. 2) in the middle of the line.
  • Howie Roseman was asked about the Eagles’ decision to block vice president of player personnel Joe Douglas from interviewing for the Texans’ GM job this offseason and offered up a vague explanation. “We were during the season,” Roseman said (via Matt Lombardo of NJ.com). “I think that the way the league rules are, that during the season, it’s not expected that you’d allow people to interview with other teams. That’s the way the rules are written. We’re going to abide by the rules that are written. Joe’s a valuable part of our organization. We love having him in Philadelphia. But, again, during the season we’re going to focus on playing.” Going forward, the Eagles will probably have to give Douglas an elevation in salary and title in order to keep him in the organization.
  • The Cowboys should prioritize a long-term deal for Zack Martin over pass rusher DeMarcus Lawrence, Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News opines. The Cowboys need a great edge defender more than another Pro Bowl offensive lineman, but Lawrence’s history of back injuries and struggles prior to 2017 give Sherrington pause about the idea of committing to him for years to come. His suggestion is for the Cowboys to tag him for 2018 and take it from there. Meanwhile, Martin has already shown that he’s among the best in the league at his position across multiple seasons.

Eagles Working On Brandon Graham Extension

November 26th, 2017 at 10:01am CST by Rory Parks

The Eagles are working on a new deal for defensive end Brandon Graham, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. Graham has racked up six sacks this season — his career-high is 6.5 — and he currently ranks as the fifth-best edge defender in the league (out of 112 qualified players) per Pro Football Focus.

Brandon Graham (vertical)

Graham is still under club control through 2018 as a result of the four-year, $26.5MM deal he inked in 2015, a deal that looks like a bargain now. Despite some rumblings that he would hold out of training camp this summer, he never did so and firmly indicated that he never planned to hold out. Nonetheless, the Eagles did add incentives to his current deal in August and now it seems they are prepared to reward him even more.

Philadelphia, of course, is 9-1 and is on the short list of Super Bowl favorites. The team also has a history of being aggressive in locking up key members of its roster, even late in the season (the Eagles signed Timmy Jernigan to a lucrative multi-year deal several weeks ago).

As La Canfora notes, Graham is something of a late-bloomer, but he has thrived under defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and his impact goes far beyond his raw sack totals. He is a key cog in the club’s defensive success, and GM Howie Roseman is ready to pay him accordingly. La Canfora does say that the two sides have a fairly large gap to bridge, but the team’s interest in getting something done soon is genuine.

Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com (Twitter link) says that if Graham and the Eagles can agree to terms, his extension would likely lower his cap hit for 2018 (currently $7.5MM) to free up some space. After all, as Shorr-Parks observes in a separate piece, the cap hits for Jernigan’s new contract are out, and they are significant.

Load More Posts