By Peter Gleason
At the rate the Eagles keep signing their veterans to new contracts or extensions, you have to wonder:
Have they forgotten about Fletcher Cox and Sam Bradford?
Safety Malcolm Jenkins is the latest key player to agree to terms on a new five-year deal. Jenkins was poised to enter the final season of a three-year, $15.5 million contract he had outplayed the last two years in Philly after beginning his career in New Orleans.
A first-time Pro Bowl selection in 2015, Jenkins suggested during Super Bowl week that he was due for a lucrative new deal.
“Believe me, I’m waiting. I’m trying to get in line just like everybody else,” Jenkins told the Inky. “That’s something I can’t control. But I’m definitely interested in staying. I want to be in Philly long term.”
Jenkins is the fourth nucleus player to land a new contract since executive vice president of football operations Howie Boy Roseman resumed de facto general manager duties in January. Tight end Zach Ertz, right tackle Lane Johnson and defensive endVinny Curry have also been awarded new deals in the past month. Star defensive lineman Fletcher Cox is next on the docket.
After upgrading the secondary in his first season with the Eagles, Jenkins graduated to the ranks of the NFL’s best safeties in his second season. In fact, it can be argued that he and impending free agent Walter Thurmond were the league’s premier safety tandem last season.
Jenkins, 28, led the team in tackles each of the past two years and forced more turnovers than anyEagles defender in 2015.
Provided he stays healthy and productive, he will spend the next half-decade quarterbacking new coordinator Jim Schwartz’s secondary.
