Eagles reportedly expected to have interest in Pierre Garçon

The Washington Post’s always-excellent Mike Jones wrote a piece on Thursday about Washington’s tenuous future, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

The whole thing’s worth a read as we keep tabs on the Eagles’ NFC East rivals in this formative period for the division, but Jones dropped a little bit of a nugget in the middle of the story which pertains to the Eagles’ free agency interests:

Even if Cousins returns, all of his weapons may not. It doesn’t sound as if the Redskins plan to re-sign DeSean Jackson, who is extremely talented, but too inconsistent for management’s taste. The team likes Pierre Garcon, and Garcon says he wants to be here. But as many as five other teams (Rams, Eagles, Bears, Cowboys, 49ers) are expected to want this reliable veteran to serve as a security blanket for their young quarterbacks.

If any of those come correct (financially), and the Redskins do the Redskins thing and lowball their own rather than giving them the respect they deserve, Garcon will likely shrug and go elsewhere. That would leave Washington with a poor receiving corps for Cousins (or whichever quarterback) to work with.

The Birds have already been linked many, many, many times to former Eagle and perennial spark-plug DeSean Jackson. As has been reported many times, the team’s interest in pursuing Jackson is real.

But this is the first time a concrete reference to the Eagles’ interest in Garçon has been made.

Garçon, who turns 31 in August, has spent the last five years of his career with Washington after spending his first four with the Colts. In 16 games last season, Garçon caught 79 passes for 1,041 yards and three touchdowns. He made $10.2 million last season.

If, as Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel reported, a player like Kenny Stills is expecting five years and $30 million, you can bet Garçon would be substantially cheaper than that. A two-year deal for $9.5 million might get the job done.

Garçon has been a productive receiver for nearly a decade now. If the Eagles are able to rope in a guy of his caliber, a possession receiver with great hands, alongside a deep threat like DeSean Jackson? And then maybe toss a rookie wideout in there as WR4? The Birds would be in such better shape than they were in 2016. A guy like Garçon could be critical for Carson Wentz’s development.

There will likely be competition for his services, and the Eagles might bow out of a bidding war in the hopes of nabbing younger talent with bigger upside. But for now, this is an intriguing rumor, and one to definitely keep an eye on.