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Earlier this week, NFL insider Adam Schefter was first to report that Malcolm Jenkins had shown up to the NovaCare Complex in time for Philadelphia Eagles mandatory minicamp.
It was an interesting development because Schefter previously said he didn’t expect Jenkins to be there due to an “unresolved contract situation.” Schefter isn’t wrong very often — if ever — when it comes to reporting information. So, what gives?
Well, according to Schefter, the Eagles convinced Jenkins to show up this week. Here’s what he said earlier today on the 97.5 The Fanatic Morning Show with Marc Farzetta, Tra Thomas, and Bob Cooney.
“I was surprised. I’ve got to be honest with you. And you know how I’ve felt about this. And I think that he felt the same way. And I will say to the credit of the Eagles organization, they were aware that he felt that way. And they spent the weekend on the phone with him being very persuasive and very convincing and very endearing and saying all the right things. And making it such that he was there. Now, in a perfect world, he wanted to be there anyway. With his teammates, and not missing things. Here’s a guy that has never missed anything during his time there, including voluntary OTAs. And he had stayed away all during the spring and all those OTAs from the very first [day]. I think general manager Howie Roseman got on the phone this weekend and did a lot of phone work getting Malcolm Jenkins back there. And really knew that he had a potential issue on his hands. He was fully aware of it. And was able to convince Malcolm to come in there for the good of the team, for the good of everybody, and be back for the mandatory minicamp and credit to Howie Roseman for getting that done because I think a lot of people would’ve just let it come and go. They would not have been as proactive as Howie was. And [the Eagles] said the right things to him, whatever those things were, to get him back in there. Without adjusting his contract, by the way. Like, if you look at the contract on the NFLPA [database], there’s no adjustment on there. None. None. But they had enough conversations and Howie was good enough and smart enough to make sure that Malcolm would be back and wouldn’t miss anything.”
It’s good to hear the Eagles made an effort to smooth things over with Jenkins.
Of course, the team’s work isn’t done. Jenkins explicitly told reporters he feels like he’s outplayed his current contract. He also indicated that negotiations for a new deal are “ongoing.”
So, will something get done? Schefter is optimistic.
“At some point in time, my guess is that Malcolm will get taken care of. And I’m sure something along those lines — whatever it is — was conveyed to him. Like ‘Hey, you do this, and we’ll do right by you. You do right by us now, we’ll do right by you later.’ I believe that that’s probably accurate, yes.”
The Eagles’ final minicamp practice will take place on Thursday. After that, players and staffers are on vacation until training camp begins in late July. Perhaps we’ll see the Eagles and Jenkins reach an agreement before the week is over.