Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin (18) during training camp at the Eagles NovaCare Complex. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Conventional wisdom states that NFL players would like to receive multiple years on their contracts and benefit from the security that it adds, whereas teams would rather give one-year deals to players coming off of major injuries in order to reduce the risk of a player coming back a shell of his former self on a larger deal that makes him more difficult to cut. But the negotiations between the Philadelphia Eagles and wide receiver Jeremy Maclin are bucking conventional wisdom, as a source “with knowledge of the situation” tells Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio that Maclin prefers to sign a one-year deal.
Florio reports that Maclin would like to sign a one-year, prove-it deal in order to show teams that he’s fully healthy and has no ill-effects from the ACL tear last August that cost him to miss the entire 2013 season. However, the Eagles, per Florio, would like to sign Maclin to a “legitimate multi-year contract”.
Both sides have had mutual interest for quite some time, and this news proves that the Eagles would love to re-sign Maclin even after giving big deals to Jason Kelce, Jason Peters, and fellow impending free agent wide receiver Riley Cooper.
There is no doubt that Maclin will be a very good No. 2 receiver if he is fully healthy, and the Eagles interest in signing him to a multi-year pact isn’t unwarranted. It means that they are confident in Maclin’s ability to be healthy and productive going forward, which is great news overall. They want to build as high octane of an offense as possible, and a healthy Maclin would help franchise quarterback Nick Foles even more. But will they have to settle for a one-year deal and potentially lose J-Mac in 2015? That’s become an interesting storyline to watch for now.