Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Jalen Reagor (18) against the Washington Football Team at Lincoln Financial Field.
Jalen Reagor’s journey down the Eagles’ depth chart continued this weekend, his future murkier than ever.
Reagor has played more snaps over the past two years than any other Eagles wide receiver:
1,261 … Jalen Reagor
1,036… Greg Ward
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916 … DeVonta Smith
771 … Quez Watkins
553 … Travis Fulgham
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348 … John Hightower
202 … Alshon Jeffery
179 … DeSean Jackson
170 … J.J. Arcega-Whiteside
But the offseason additions of A.J. Brown and Zach Pascal have re-shaped the Eagles’ wide receiver room, and if you were drawing up a depth chart today, Brown and DeVonta Smith would be at the top, with Quez Watkins and Pascal next.
Where does it leave Reagor?
The reality is that the Eagles’ 1st-round pick two years ago no longer seems to have a role here. When you drop from a starter to No. 5 on the depth chart – and possibly even behind undrafted Greg Ward – that does not augur well for your future.
Reagor has 64 catches for 695 yards and three touchdowns in 28 games in his first two years.
Of 70 wide receivers drafted league-wide in the first round since 1970 who started at least 20 games in their first two seasons, only three had fewer yards. Only seven caught fewer passes. Only four had fewer TDs.
Despite all of that, Eagles GM Howie Roseman said Saturday night he doesn’t anticipate a move with Reagor.
“Jalen Reagor is a Philadelphia Eagle and he's going to be here,” Roseman said. “We want to have good players in that room and good players on this team.
“He's worked tremendously hard to get in shape and come into this off-season program, and now he has an opportunity. We don't anticipate anything changing.”
Now that could simply mean the Eagles can’t find anybody who’ll part with even a conditional 7th-round pick in exchange for Reagor. There’s not much of a market for players as unproductive as Reagor.
The simple answer is cut Reagor.
The problem there is money.
If the Eagles release Reagor, he would count $7.84 million in dead money against their 2022 salary cap. Since he has a $3.62 million cap figure, he would count just over $4.22 million more against their cap if they cut him than if they keep him.
So as the Eagles prepare for the 2022 season, Reagor dwells in no-man’s land, too expensive to cut, not valuable enough to trade, not good enough to play.
