Drew Rosenhaus | The Chris Murray Report: A Public Forum For Sports, Politics, and Culture

By Chris Murray

Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson wants to renegotiate his contract his five-year, $48 million contract with the Eagles.

For the Chris Murray Report and the Philadelphia Sunday Sun

PHILADELPHIA—For all the talk during this free agency signing period about the Philadelphia Eagles wanting to maintain their chemistry, the question to be asked when it comes to team’s shopping of wide receiver DeSean Jackson is, can there be addition by subtraction?

According to media reports, the Eagles are listening to offers for Jackson, who wants to renegotiate his five-year, $48-million contract. The former Cal star said last January that he was deserving of a new deal.

You remember the last hotshot Eagles wide receiver who wanted to renegotiate his contract, right? It was some guy named Terrell Owens and we all know what happened with that. Not only did the Eagles not budge in that situation, but they also eventually showed Owens, and his agent Drew Rosenhaus, the door.

Maybe Jackson should talk to T.O.and his former agent Rosenhaus about that one.

But that said, Jackson is coming off a career year where he caught 82 passes for 1,332 yards and nine touchdowns. He fit Chip Kelly’s offense quite well, especially in the vertical passing game.

But one thing that you have to understand about the NFL is that every player, even the superstars, is expendable if you can find a good deal. General managers like the Eagles’ Howie Roseman will tell you is that his office gets calls about players all the time.

As good as Jackson has been over the years with the Eagles, he is not above being replaced. No one is going to confuse him with Megatron (the Detroit Lions’ Calvin Johnson), or is going to mention him in the same breath as the Larry Fitzgeralds, and Andre Johnsons of the world. Jackson is not the best route runner in the world and struggles at times against press coverage.

In fact, in the Eagles’ playoff game against the New Orleans Saints, Jackson was held in check by Saints cornerback Keenan Lewis before he left the game with an injury. Jackson caught just three passes for 53 yards.

But at the same time, if you’re going to get rid of Jackson, you’d better get somebody who is ready to start at wide receiver right now either through free agency or the draft.

The current free agent pool is slim at wide receiver right now. The most notable guy out there now is Dallas Cowboys free agent Miles Austin, who was battling injuries all last season and hasn’t really lived up to the promise of a few years back.

The best wide receiver in the draft is Clemson star Sammy Watkins, who is projected to be a high first-round pick. If you’re going to unload Jackson, you might want to make a deal to be able to draft Watkins, who caught 101 passes last season and had a monster 16-catch effort against Ohio State in the Orange Bowl.

Another possibility is Texas A&M wideout Mike Evans. The six-foot-five, 223-pound receiver runs a 4.5 40-yard dash and has the potential with his size and hands to be a nightmare for opposing defenses in red-zone situations. He caught 65 passes for 1,322 yards and 12 touchdowns.

The Eagles would probably have to trade up in the draft to get Evans as well and Jackson would probably be part of that deal.

But you know what? It ain’t gonna happen.

According to most reports that I’ve seen, Jackson’s $10.5 million annual salary is the thing that’s making teams a little squeamish about pulling the trigger on a trade for the 27-year-old wide receiver. The New York Jets, New England Patriots and the San Francisco have reportedly made calls, but nothing really serious.

So Jackson’s probably staying put for the time being.

The Eagles have to hope that Jackson’s grumbling over his contract doesn’t escalate to the point to where he’s a distraction. Trading him only makes sense if you’re going to get something of equal or greater value. Since no one in the league is trying to do that.

If I were advising him, I would tell Jackson to chill and concentrate on improving upon last season and then seeing what can be worked out. More importantly, I’d advise him to avoid trying to “negotiate” with the Eagles in the media by griping about it constantly….

‘Cuz that’s a battle you ain’t gonna win….

Just ask your boy T.O…..

LeSean McCoy says he’s ready to get back to football after contract negotiations.

By Chris Murray

For the Chris Murray Report

Now that the stress of getting his five-year, $45-million deal is behind him, Eagles running back LeSean “Shady” McCoy is not only ready to get back to work to start the 2012 season, he is out to prove that he is the best in the NFL.

“Even without this deal, I want to come in this league, in this year and dominate,” McCoy said. “That’s what I want to do with the money or without the money, I want to dominate. I want to be considered the best all the time, not just this year and then take a year off. I want it to be on a consistent basis where I’m mentioned as one of the best better backs and my team is doing well.”

Coming off a season where he gained 1,309 yards rushing (ranked 4^th in the NFL) while scoring a franchise record 20 total touchdowns (17 rushing and three receiving), it was a no-brainer for the Eagles to reward the 23-year-old McCoy , who also had 48 receptions, with a good deal because of his value to the offense.

“We felt like we had a great nucleus of guys, LeSean being one of that group,” Eagles head coach Andy Reid. “He does it all, so this isn’t a one-dimensional running back. This is a running back that can not only carry the football for you but can catch the football as well as the wide receivers and he can block and loves playing the game. That brings great energy to this football team.”

McCoy said with the burden of getting that big contract signed makes it easier for him to get ready for the organized team activities during this spring.

“I love to compete and that’s the biggest thing with me and my teammates in the locker room ,” McCoy said. “A lot of guys on this team have nice deals and they’re in the same boat I am. They’ll come in and work hard.”

On the surface, it looked like getting the deal would be easier said than done, especially since McCoy’s agent is Drew Rosenhaus. But this time around there was no prolonged holdouts, or negotiating in the news media or elaborate press conferences outside his clients home. It was a matter of all sides being honest and working it out.

Rosenhaus said Reid was a major force during the negotiations along with Eagles general manager Howie Rosen with who the controversial agent spent the most time with during the course of working out the terms of McCoy’s contract.

“Coach Reid kind of sat there as a presence,’hey I want this deal to happen, guys. Do whatever it takes,” Rosenhaus said. “He motivated both sides. He was very instrumental in the process.

“In the multitude of deals we’ve done with the Eagles and they are in the dozens since he’s been the head coach this is the most involved that I’ve seen him. ..The main goal is to win a championship.”

Not only has Rosenhaus successfully negotiated deals McCoy, but he’s also gotten deals for DeSean Jackson, and Evan Mathis. Yes, this is the same Drew Rosenhaus whom folks despised for his infamous, “Next Question,” debacle back in 2005 with his former client Terrell Owens. He was a guy that was presumeably the scourge of Eagles management because of what some people thought was his penchant for strong-arming teams by negotiating with them through the media. .

Apparently, That’s the case not anymore. Rosenhaus said he has a good relationship with Eagles management in recent years and credits the Birds management for facilitating that process.

“Guys have been uneasy about some of the things that have happened in the past and may have been nervous about our relationship with the Eagles,” Rosenhaus said. “With Evan, DeSean, and LeSean, the Eagles were very positive towards them about us. They let the players know that they have no problems dealing with us and that we would be able to work out deals.”

Rosenhaus said he’s learned a lot of things over the years about allowing things with his clients to escalate in the media during the course of contract negotiations.

“At one time, I communicated too much with the media when it was related to negotiations then I was completely distance,” Rosenhaus said. “Now I’m trying to be somewhere in a good middle.”