Rodney McLeod agrees to restructured contract with Eagles, will stay with team in 2019
McLeod, 28, was entering the fourth season of a five-year, $35-million contract. He was not guaranteed to return because his contract called for a salary cap hit of $9.9 million in 2019.
Rodney McLeod will remain with the Eagles in 2019 after agreeing to a restructured contract with the team on Thursday, a positive sign for the Eagles secondary that missed their starting safety for most of the 2018 season after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in September.
McLeod, 28, was entering the fourth season of a five-year, $35-million contract. But he was not guaranteed to return because his contract called for a salary cap hit of $9.9 million in 2019. The terms of his restructured contract were not immediately available.
The Eagles realized the value of McLeod after he exited the lineup following the Week 3 injury. The team gave veteran Corey Graham a bigger role and even converted rookie Avonte Maddox from cornerback to safety in the middle of the season, but those were patchwork solutions for the reliable McLeod. He’s started every game he’s played in his Eagles career (McLeod missed two games in 2017) and had six interceptions in 2016 and 2017 while also forcing a fumble in both seasons. The Eagles signed McLeod away from the St. Louis Rams, where the Virginia product played the first four seasons of his career.
McLeod remained around the team while rehabbing during the back stretch of the season, traveling to road games and helping to lead the ski mask celebration that had become popular with the defense.
By playing as the deep safety, McLeod is a strong complement to Malcolm Jenkins. Together, they had formed one of the NFL’s top safety combinations. With McLeod returning next to Jenkins, the Eagles have stability in the back end of the defense. The biggest question in the secondary is now cornerback Ronald Darby, who is set to hit free agency after tearing his ACL.