Malcolm Jenkins Clearly Deserves a Raise
The Birds’ mandatory minicamp begins this week and veteran safety Malcolm Jenkins is not expected to participate.
According to the King, Howard Eskin, Jenkins is seeking a “hefty raise” to his current deal:
The #eagles open the mandatory mini camp but don’t expect S Malcolm Jenkins to be coming in. Still hearing he wants a hefty raise to his deal. Can’t see why the team will go there after signing Carson Wentz. Whatever $ is left in the cap , they can roll into next season.
— Howard Eskin (@howardeskin) June 10, 2019
Hefty is an interesting word. Is that a million dollars? Two million dollars? ONE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS?
Last week Adam Schefter told the 97.5 the Fanatic morning show that the Jenkins’ thing was an “unresolved contractual situation:
…I think the Eagles organization is not surprised by this. I think that they know this is going to be an issue that will carry into and beyond next week. And I personally, my own sense is, reading between the lines, I don’t believe he will be (at mandatory camp). We’ll see whether or not that turns out to be accurate. But I don’t think we’ll see him next week for the opening of mandatory minicamp.”
Jenkins ranks 9th among NFL safeties in average earnings per year, according to Over the Cap. Below, you see he’s smushed between Adrian Amos and Tony Jefferson and making less than Harrison Smith and Lamarcus Joyner, after the jump:
Jenkins played every snap last season and stood out as a consistent, veteran Pro Bowl contributor in a patchwork secondary that was obliterated by injuries. He logged 97 tackles, six for loss, a sack, a fumble recovery, and an interception and has not missed a football game since 2013. Jenkins’ durability has been otherwordly, even at age 30 and 31.
If that’s reason for the Eagles to hesitate, his age, I get it, but for comparison Thomas will earn three million more per year AAV with a contract that takes him to Jenkins’ current age. Smith’s contract takes him to age 33 and Joyner age 32, so I don’t think it’s unreasonable to give Jenkins a boost right now without having to dole out some crippling deal that brings him to age 35.
Here’s a brief comparison with some of those guys, dating back to 2015:
Throw in five playoff games, a Super Bowl ring, and Jenkins’ status as a captain and veteran leader and player of multiple positions if you need more to help your case. The statistics themselves should justify the argument without even getting into the other stuff.
More background via Over the Cap, which lays out Malcolm’s deal as such:
If those last two years look funky, it’s the result of a Howie Roseman restructure, explained via this note:
According to Field Yates, Jenkins restructured his contract on September 3, 2018 to create $6.148 million in cap room. We are assuming that to do this the Eagles added two dummy years to the contract and prorated $7.685 million of his salary over 5 years. The restructure will increase Jenkins’ cap charges by $1.537 million in the final two years of the contract and leave the Eagles with $3 million to account for in 2021.
Right, so Jenkins was one of the many Eagles who restructured in a team-first way. He’s performed at an elite level over the past two seasons and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to return the favor by re-working his current deal.
Let’s get this order of business wrapped up and move on.
Edit:
This literally happened 5 minutes after pressing publish –
Eagles’ safety Malcolm Jenkins has reported for his team physical and will be in attendance for the team’s mandatory minicamp that begins Tuesday, per source. Jenkins is said to be excited to be with his teammates and focused on the 2019 season as an Eagle.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 10, 2019