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Yesterday we shared news with you that Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper had been re-signed by Philly, while injured teammate Jeremy Maclin was reportedly far apart in negotiations with the Eagles. Maclin can now be removed from the ever-shrinking list of pending NFL free agents, as the Eagles announced the re-signing of Maclin today.
Maclin had been on the radar of the receiver-needy Jets, while the Denver Broncos allegedly were willing to offer the Eagle a single season contract. Maclin had been seeking a one year "prove it" deal following a critical ACL injury in order to reap greater potential future earnings, which was probably the only offer that would have surfaced from any team.
This might disappoint a great many site users and Jets fans alike who thought Maclin would be an ideal medium-risk/high-reward rental in the Jets offensive system. Others who viewed Jeremy Maclin as a middle-ranked number two receiver before he went down with an ACL injury might be relieved. Maclin's contract is reportedly for 6 million dollars, with 3.5 million dollars of that being guaranteed. Not a bank breaker by any means, but a decent contract for someone coming off such a serious injury.
The market implications of this as well as the Cooper re-signing do not favor the Jets in free agency. The Jets will almost certainly need multiple additions through free agency and draft at WR this offseason, the pool of which just got smaller, and the market price of the position is trending upward thanks to Philadelphia.
This also could increase the possibility that the Jets break the bank for a receiver like Eric Decker or a tight end such as Jimmy Graham. It's also possible that these other high profile names get signed ahead of March, further narrowing the options available to John Idzik, whose management style in the face of fledgling free agency options will be tested this year.
I liked Maclin as a fit for the Jets, but I'm not going to shed any tears over not dropping six million dollars for a one year rental of an unsure commodity either. It seems increasingly likely that John Idzik and the Jets will have limited choices at multiple positions of need in 2014.