Good Move or Bad Move: Letting Jeremy Maclin walk

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Among the many reasons for Chip Kelly's release was a series of personnel changes that backfired -- but were all of his roster tweaks the wrong decisions? We look back on Kelly's construction of the Eagles and reflect on whether each move was good or bad.

The Eagles had one key free agent to worry about last offseason – Jeremy Maclin. The 27-year-old wideout was coming off of such an outstanding season, there was even some debate as to whether the club should use the franchise tag to ensure his stay at nearly $13 million.

Instead, the Eagles rolled the dice, and Maclin reached free agency. It wasn’t long before he was signing a five-year, $55 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs. Just like that, a Pro Bowl receiver was gone.

It’s a little unfair to classify this as a “move” Chip Kelly made. The Eagles made Maclin an offer. The Chiefs made a better one, which at the time seemed a little outrageous. Not only that, Kansas City had the allure of being close to home for Maclin, along with his head coach of five NFL seasons, Andy Reid.

Yet in retrospect, Maclin was sorely missed and may have been worth the money all along. Should the Eagles have increased their offer, even if it meant overpaying? Would it have mattered?

The contract
Last offseason, many guesses as to what kind of contract Maclin could fetch were as high as $10 million per year. The Chiefs came in at $11 million. To put that in perspective, it’s tied for ninth in annual salary for NFL receivers.

Maclin is a talented player. He racked up 85 receptions for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns with Nick Foles and Mark Sanchez throwing him the football in 2014. This season, he posted 87 receptions for 1,088 yards and eight touchdowns with Alex Smith at quarterback. Those are impressive numbers.

But is he one of the top 10 receivers in the league? Clearly, Kelly didn’t think so, or wasn’t willing to pay him as such anyhow. There’s something to be said for the possibility that the Eagles underestimated Maclin, something that was going on before Kelly ever took control of personnel.

Maclin bet on himself and won
It’s easy to forget the Eagles probably had an opportunity to lock up Maclin one year earlier.

Maclin was a free agent in 2014, but coming off of a season-ending ACL injury. He had never produced a 1,000-yard season over his first four years in the league, either. The Eagles, led by Howie Roseman at the time, tried to lock him up long-term, but no doubt low-balled him. Maclin wound up taking a one-year contract instead, betting on himself as he put it.

Granted, it’s hard to say what Maclin was worth at the time given that set of circumstances. That being said, the recovery rate on ACL injuries is better than ever, and as for the numbers, let’s just say Eagles quarterbacks weren’t exactly maximizing their talent in 2011 and ’12. In 2010, when Mike Vick caught lightning in a bottle, Maclin finished with 70 catches for 964 yards and 10 scores.

We’ll never know what went on during those negotiations, but had the Eagles been able to lock him up in 2014, not only would it have been far cheaper, we wouldn’t be debating whether or not Kelly screwed up.

The backup plan
It’s not as if the Eagles were wholly unprepared for Maclin’s departure, either. The previous season, the team spent second- and third-round picks on Jordan Matthews, and Matthews at least was coming off of a fine rookie season and appeared poised for a feature role.

Obviously, things didn’t quite work out that way. Without a strong perimeter threat in the offense, Matthews struggled to get open at times as defenses focused on the slot receiver. As for Huff, he has yet to materialize as a consistent target at all.

Kelly didn’t appear convinced Matthews and Huff could carry the load, either, seeing as he invested a first-round pick in Nelson Agholor as well. But again, that just serves as another example of the team doing everything it could to prepare for life without Maclin. It just didn’t pan out, at least not so far.

Conclusion
Losing Maclin turned out to be a huge blow for the Eagles. There’s no getting around that. Without him, they had nobody on the outside who could take the top off the defense or even get open on a regular basis. That allowed defenses to focus on Matthews. You could make the case the Eagles wouldn’t have needed to use a first-round pick on another receiver as well.

Then again, you have to consider the money aspect, and remember: hindsight is 20/20. A lot of people would’ve balked at the contract the Eagles would’ve had to give Maclin to retain him. Plus, even had they matched the Chiefs, it seems possible if not likely he would’ve chose Reid and going home regardless.

Of course, as we wrap up the Good Move/Bad Move series and look bad at some of the ways the Eagles misallocated their money – unnecessarily signing DeMarco Murray for example – it’s fair to question whether Kelly fully understood the value of NFL players. It’s not all his fault Maclin is gone, but ultimately Kelly couldn’t get the deal done, either. 

 

Previously: The Bradford tradeThe LeSean-Kiko swapSigning MurraySigning Maxwell,Trading BoykinReleasing MathisExtending KendricksThurmond to safety, Miles Austin

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