The DeSean Jackson trade rumors that took hold around the NFL world earlier this week have now taken yet another turn. According to reports, the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks both put calls in to the Philadelphia Eagles for the enigmatic but talented veteran receiver.
According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, a trade might be difficult for both sides involved, but they are interested…
The Seahawks and 49ers are among teams to have talked to the Eagles, sources said, but they lack the cap space to absorb Jackson’s salary and trading for him would be cumbersome. Given that contract it’s unlikely the Eagles get more than a mid-round pick for him, if they are able to deal Jackson.
Jackson is set to count $12.75 million against the cap in 2014. Meanwhile, San Francisco is among the teams with the lowest amount of cap room at $4.2 million. Seattle does have over $15 million in room, but that’s a tad misleading. Its going to have to lock up some of its young stars on long-term extensions this offseason, most notably safety Earl Thomas. That’s sure to take a bite out of Seattle’s flexibility moving forward.
Steven Bisig, USA Today: The loss of Tate does open up room on Seattle’s depth chart.
The need is technically there for both teams. Seattle lost Golden Tate to the Detroit Lions in free agency and released veteran Sidney Rice. Despite retaining Anquan Boldin on a two-year contract, the 49ers have been actively looking at free-agent wide receivers. They brought Julian Edelman in for a visit and were previously linked to Hakeem Nicks as well as Emmanuel Sanders. With the free agent class dying down at this position, Jackson has become a prize for teams like San Francisco and Seattle to look at.
The largest issue for Seattle remains the salary cap, but its also in a less-than stellar situation as it relates to compensation it could throw Philadelphia’s way. Reports indicate that the Eagles are looking for at least a third-round pick for Jackson. Unfortunately for general manager John Schneider and Co, they yielded that third rounder to the Minnesota Vikings in the Percy Harvin deal last year.
Short of the Eagles taking a lesser deal to move Jackson, Seattle might have to pony up its second-round pick for Jackson. That’s a hefty price to pay for someone that already has a hefty price tag.
Then you have this.
Robert Deutsch, USA Today: Can Seattle realistically pay $25 million to two WR’s?
Harvin is set to make $13.4 million in 2014. While the Seahawks are getting away with paying Russell Wilson below backup quarterback money because he’s still on a rookie deal, they cannot justify paying two receivers over $26 million this upcoming season.
This means that two things are going to have to happen if the Seahawks are realistically going to pull off a deal.
First off, they would likely have to negotiate a new contract with Jackson. This could go one of two ways. Schneider could give the veteran a nice amount of guaranteed money, but back load the most expensive years of the deal. The other possibility is giving him a huge signing bonus that could be spread out throughout the duration of the deal. Either way, that really hasn’t been the Seahawks MO since Schneider and Pete Carroll took over the once fledgling franchise some four years ago.
Another option would be to contact veterans about possible restructures. That field is somewhat limited in Seattle…
Marshawn Lynch has a cap figure of $7 million in 2014 and will count $9 million against the cap the following season. Seattle could possibly approach him about an extension, something that he seems to be campaigning for, in order to lower the cap hit he receives this upcoming season.
Veteran defensive tackle Brandon Mebane is set to count $5.7 million against the cap in each of the next two seasons. As the anchor to one of the best defensive fronts in the NFL, he’s an important part of what Seattle does on that side of the ball. He’s also getting up there in age. Extending him for a couple more seasons while lowering his cap hit in 2014 might be difficult. It is, however, doable.
That’s about it. Seattle doesn’t have anywhere near the flexibility here as the 49ers do.
Despite being less than $5 million under the cap, San Francisco could do some things to make this work. It released Carlos Rogers with a June 1st designation, meaning that $6.2 million will be coming off its cap in a couple months.
Jeremy Brevard, USA Today: Gore remains a prime candidate for a restructure.
Long time franchise running back Frank Gore is set to count $6.45 million against the cap, but has no guaranteed money remaining on his deal. While it’s highly unlikely that the 49ers cut him loose, a restructure could very well be in order.
49ers general manager Trent Baalke has previously gone on record indicating that there was no reason for them to restructure Gore’s contract (via Niners Nation).
The simple answer is there’s no reason it can’t be. We’re in good shape from a cap standpoint, so the decision on that…there’s really no decision to be made. We can move forward exactly as is, if that’s what we choose to do.
That might have changed since the news that Jackson is on the trade block. Reducing Gore’s cap hit by $4 million while possibly adding another year on to his deal and guaranteeing a reasonable chunk of that could be an option.
There are ample opportunities for the 49ers to make room under the cap so that they can afford Jackson.
Bob Donnan, USA Today: Other dynamics are in play for the 49ers as well.
Anthony Davis, who signed a five-year, $33.2 million contract last April, is set to count $7.5 million against the cap next season. His cap hit goes down to $5.1 million in 2016, which is an indication that the 49ers could fully guarantee and push back the difference to that season.
Vernon Davis ($7.3 million), NaVorro Bowman ($7 million) and Justin Smith ($6.9 million) are also options for contract restructures.
San Francisco is also going to boast six picks in the first three rounds of the upcoming draft. Needless to say, it has the ability to offer Philadelphia a better package than Seattle.
If it were this easy, however, Jackson would be on the 49ers.
They have a ton of young stars that they need to retain on long-term deals, most notably quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The two sides have been in negotiations about a contract extensions and it’s likely that San Francisco’s decision to make Rogers a post June 1st cut means that its looking at using that money to give Kaepernick a raise from his $1.6 million salary in 2014.
Outside of Kaepernick, San Francisco also has to think about long-term deals for Mike Iupati and Michael Crabtree, both of whom are set to be free agents after the 2014 season.
Look, San Francisco and Seattle are the two-best teams in the NFL. Neither of them need to add Jackson to the mix in order to compete for a Super Bowl in 2014. Where he might be a necessity for teams like the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, he’s more of a luxury for these two NFC West rivals.
What might make this more interesting is if Jackson is released outright.
Report: #Eagles willing to cut DeSean Jackson if they can’t pull off a trade, per @GeoffMosherCSN: http://t.co/IJ60Nc7107 #EaglesTalk
— Comcast SportsNet (@CSNPhilly) March 22, 2014
This would turn the 49ers and Seahawks free on one another in a fight against other potential suitors for the Pro Bowl receiver.
On that note, it’s important to indicate that San Francisco and Seattle do not like one another. As much as they go at it on the field, that rivalry is not limited to the field itself. These two franchises continue to go back and forth as it relates to adding young/quality talent to the roster. This was evident last spring when San Francisco traded for Anquan Boldin a mere minutes after the Seahawks landed Percy Harvin.
It’s also been evident with the way each team picks up perceived scraps of the other team off the waiver wire, something that has happened at least a half of dozen times over the past calendar year.
Maybe this is the reason that both teams have showed interest in Jackson.
In any event, if one of these teams were to land Jackson, that team would automatically become the favorite in the NFC West, and therefore, the favorite to win the conference in 2014. Despite his attitude, Jackson is simply a game changer on the field. And both of these teams know that full well.
All contract information provided by Spotrac
Photo: Kirby Lee, USA Today