Doug Pederson reveals he spoke with Jeremy Maclin about joining the Eagles

It was a little curious to hear that the Eagles were one of the two finalists for Jeremy Maclin after the veteran wide receiver signed with the Ravens on Monday. Sure, the Eagles had previously been rumored to have interest in Maclin, but Doug Pederson really downplayed that notion during his press conference last week.

But it turns out Pederson did talk to Maclin after all. After saying the Eagles didn’t have any interest in Maclin “at this time” on Thursday, Pederson then spoke with the former Philadelphia wide receiver two days later. Via Dave Spadaro of PhiladelphiaEagles.com:

Former Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin signed with Baltimore on Monday as an unrestricted free agent after being linked with the Eagles, who were reported to have interest. When asked early last week if the Eagles had interest, Pederson said, “Not at this time.” However, Pederson reached out to Maclin on Saturday to feel around and gauge interest from Maclin’s side.

“As I’ve said, we’re always looking for talent and ways to upgrade this roster. At the time when I was asked that question, I had not talked to Jeremy, but when he was still available over the weekend, we got together as a staff and discussed it. I called him and spoke to him and had a good conversation just to see what he was thinking, where he was at,” Pederson said. “He made the decision today to sign with Baltimore and we wish him the best of luck. We feel very good about what we have at wide receiver, but again we’re always going to keep our eyes open for ways to improve our football team at any position.”

Having Maclin back in Philadelphia would have been nice. But signing with the Ravens probably made the most sense for him anyway due to playing time reasons.

The Eagles are moving forward with Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith as their starting wide receivers on the outside. Jordan Matthews, who is entering the last year of his contract and has been mentioned in trade rumors, projects to be the team’s slot receiver. Nelson Agholor has looked surprisingly competent in spring practices. Philadelphia obviously liked Mack Hollins and Shelton Gibson enough to spend draft picks on them.

Maclin would have been an upgrade for the Eagles, and Philadelphia had some level of interest in making it happen, but it ultimately didn’t work out.