Jason La Canfora Predicts 'North Of $7 Million A Year' For Jeremy Maclin
By Ray Boyd
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- CBS Sports' football insider Jason La Canfora joined Josh Innes and Tony Bruno on Friday afternoon. La Canfora discussed several pending free agents for the Eagles and what players around the NFL could see the franchise tag.
The big name that Eagles fans are wondering about is Jeremy Maclin. The Eagles wide receiver returned from a season off to have himself a career year in his first under Chip Kelly.
Maclin signed a one-year deal going into last season and is now in line to cash in.
Will Maclin reach free agency or will the Eagles lock him up before other teams can attempt to lure him away from the nest?
"Everyday you get closer to March 10th (the opening of free agency) then the pendulum does swing," said La Canfora. "Everyday you're closer to hitting that open market, your price isn't going to decrease, especially if you're coming off a quality season."
LISTEN: Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports joins Josh Innes and Tony Bruno
Maclin's season can certainly be described as a quality one. He caught a career high, 85 passes to go along with 1,318 yards (career high) and 10 touchdowns (tied for career high).
La Canfora emphasized that the Eagles will be hard pressed to upgrade on the offensive side of the ball beyond retaining Maclin. "If you're trying to upgrade on offense, good luck doing it with this free agent class."
That reality makes keeping Maclin in town, all that more important.
"Would it be bad to let a Jeremy Maclin walk," La Canfora posed. "Yeah, because again unless you hit on a couple guys in the draft, your answer is not out there in free agency."
La Canfora emphasized that the top free agent wide receivers, like Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas, will almost certainly be retained by their teams with at least franchise tags.
Bruno asked La Canfora whether or not he thought the Eagles could afford to allow Maclin to hit the open market on March 10th. His answer: "I don't. Really, a week from now, or 10 days from now, we'll have a much better handle on where the market is."
Bruno decided that answer needed a bit more commitment from La Canfora. He wanted numbers.
"If it's a deal that gets done with the Eagles right before the start of free agency, then I think he's going to get paid," La Canfora said. "I think he'll get north of $7 million a year."
To put that into perspective, between $7 million and $8 million last year would have placed a wide receiver just outside of the top 10 highest paid for the position.
La Canfora then gave his take on the situation with Brandon Graham. The Eagles will have to make a decision on whether or not to try to retain Graham's services. La Canfora believes it could be a little out of the Eagles' desired price range.
"A lot of times when you have pass rushers who haven't necessarily been who you thought they're going to be, but they flashed enough they become a little too rich for your blood," La Canfora explained.
"You know them inside out. You know where they are and you're probably too hesitant to pay for that flash."
La Canfora added that this is not a particularly strong market for pass rushers. That fact could bode well for Graham, and not the Eagles.
Another name worth paying some attention to is Nick Foles. Despite not being a free agent, Foles only has one-year remaining on his contract with the Eagles and most starting quarterbacks who are well established with their team do not play the final year on their rookie deal.
La Canfora explained that the Eagles have no need to rush when it comes to Foles.
"There's no rush to sign him," explained La Canfora. "The worst case is he balls out and you franchise him.
"Because of what [The Eagles] have meant to [Foles] and because you have Chip Kelly, and because you have this scheme, that allows a guy like [Foles], who let's face it, coming out of the draft was not seen as a difference maker, to function at a high level, that would go into his determination of where he wants to be."
La Canfora emphasized that the Eagles should take another year to truly get a handle on Foles.
"I don't think [the Eagles] know who he is," La Canfora said. "They see him in practice everyday. They see him in the meeting rooms and everything and I think the verdict is still very much out on him."
