Eagles podcast: Breaking down Alshon Jeffery’s future and Howie Roseman’s plan at WR ahead of 2020 NFL Draft

Eagles GM Howie Roseman spoke to reporters last week about the future of Alshon Jeffery, the team’s plans at wide receiver and more. Listen to The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane, Les Bown and Paul Domowitch discuss his comments on the latest Birds’ Eye View podcast, available on iTunes and SoundCloud.

A portion of this week’s episode is transcribed below:

Jeff McLane (JM): A few moves since we last spoke, but mostly nothing since then. We have a little more context on the Eagles’ decision-making. Howie Roseman spoke to the beat reporters. …

And I want to transition to the offensive side of the ball and what the Eagles … may do at the position of wide receiver. And the big elephant in the room — and that’s exactly the phrase Howie Roseman used to describe Alshon Jeffery — is Alshon Jeffery. And where the Eagles stand, Howie painted a picture that Alshon is coming back and he understands what he has to prove and he understands the narrative that’s out there, which I was a little alarmed to hear Howie admit to although he didn’t say anything specifically to Alshon’s alleged involvement in the anonymous quotes that were attributed to a source by ESPN the last two years.

But I want to get your guys’ take on it. What did you make of Howie’s comments and what do you think will happen with Alshon?

Les Bowen (LB): I’m open to the idea that this could really happen. I suspect [Howie’s] trying to build a trade market by creating a universe in which everything is great with Alshon and they’ll be happy to have him back. This is really an issue with Alshon and Carson Wentz at this point. And Wentz, I don’t think, is the kind of guy who’s going to demand that Alshon be stricken from the roster. He might prefer that. He might kind of roll his eyes when they try to get him to make nice with Alshon, but I think we have to account for the possibility, especially since they haven’t done anything at wide receiver.

And relying on a couple draft picks to come in to transform the wide receiving corps really isn’t all that wonderful of an idea to me. So yes, I’m open to this. I expect it won’t happen. But I'm allowing for the possibility that it could.

Paul Domowitch (PD): They have no idea when he’s going to be healthy for starters, so they’re flying blind here. And the trade market is basically non-existent because of the fact that he’s hurt and the fact that we’re in the middle of a pandemic. So I think he’s kind of putting lipstick on a pig here to a certain degree. I think you’d rather not have to go forward with him, but the options are limited. I’m not surprised they haven’t gone for a wide receiver in free agency. … The quote from Howie that keeps ringing in my ears is that he wants people who are going to grow with Carson. That means young receivers, guys he’s going to draft. Now I realize his [bad] track record on wide receivers, so that’s a gamble. But I think, as you mentioned Les, he’s hoping one of these guys, either DeSean or Alshon, can get healthy and maybe stay healthy. But boy, you sure don’t want to count on that happening if you’re trying to make a Super Bowl run this year.

JM: From my understanding on Carson, I don’t think he has a big problem with Alshon. I don’t think, in fact, there’s been anything that’s happened between the two. But … a lot of the players that I spoke to do believe that Alshon is the source behind those quotes and to the point where one player, a prominent player on offense, got into an altercation with Alshon at one point in October after the report that he was the guy.

I think Alshon is an interesting guy. I don’t think he’s hated in the locker room, but I think people just look at him differently maybe. He’s quiet, he does keep to himself but I think there’s some awkwardness there. … I think he kind of got backed into [a corner] and didn’t realize what he was saying and next thing you know these quotes have been out there. So I do think they view it through that lens. That being said, there still is that issue, and it even goes beyond Carson. If players in the locker room don’t trust Alshon, that’s an issue. And I think ultimately I do agree with you, Les. Based on Howie’s comments, I have to leave open the possibility that he could be on the roster because Howie’s boxed into this situation because of the original bad contract and then of course guaranteeing the salary for 2020. But I still don’t feel like when everything’s said and done, he will be playing for this team in 2020. It’s going to be hard to trade him. They’re going to have to eat a huge amount of the guaranteed salary to make that possible. And so maybe there is a way of how you can paint that picture. And look, at this point, fans will be happy.

LB: Fans will be happy. But if you look at it from a cost-benefit point of view, with them paying part of the deal, what are they going to get? I mean, are they going to get something better than what he can be if he’s reasonably healthy by October?

JM: A draft pick or somebody else’s damaged goods if they want to unload or something like that.

PD: They would be looking at it more as addition by subtraction.

LB: I’m not big on that. I don’t think we’re at that point where he’s addition by subtraction if there’s nothing coming back.