Taking full advantage of the increased salary cap, the Philadelphia Eagles continued their pre-free agency spending spree Friday.
After locking up left tackle Jason Peters, center Jason Kelce and wide receiver Riley Cooper, the Eagles announced a one-year contract agreement on Friday with wide receiver Jeremy Maclin.
Maclin's contract is worth a maximum of $6 million, a person who's seen the deal tells NFL Media's Albert Breer. Of that $6 million, the guaranteed portion is $3.5 million, NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported.
Coming off ACL surgery, Maclin preferred a one-year deal to preserve the opportunity for a lucrative long-term contract after a bounce-back season, according to Philadelphia Magazine. The wide receiver said the two sides weren't far apart on agreeing to terms on a five-year contract but it did not come to fruition, per CSN Philly.
"What was great to see was how he was literally here every single day since being injured," coach Chip Kelly said of Maclin's rehab Friday.
The question is whether he settled on the best place to do so.
The Jets were reportedly targeting Maclin to turn their beleaguered wide receiver corps around. While in Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine, the Around The League crew also picked up on buzz that the Denver Broncos were prepared to offer Maclin a one-year contract.
The idea of replacing Eric Decker in Peyton Manning's record-breaking offense had to be tempting, but Kelly's attack was still among the most explosive in the league.
It's easy to understand why Maclin would want to stay in Philadelphia after spending all of last season learning Kelly's innovative system.
With the offensive nucleus under contract, Kelly and general manager Howie Roseman can work on upgrading the defense in free agency and the 2014 NFL Draft as they continue to put distance between themselves and the rest of the NFC East.
The latest edition of the "Around The League Podcast" discusses the top 101 free agents and forecasts the offseasons of the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs.
