Trade Alshon Jeffery? Yeah, Right After the Eagles Sign Plaxico Burress

Remember when the Eagles were going to trade for Plaxico Burress? Remember when they were going to trade for Le'Veon Bell? Remember when they were going to cut DeMeco Ryans before the season? Weren't they going to trade for Antonio Brown at some point?

We live in an era of instant information, and that also means we live in an age of instant misinformation.

And that means on a random Sunday in August you could wake up, check Twitter and have 13 people asking if the Eagles are really trading Alshon Jeffery.

And when you try to figure out where this is all coming from, you get an endless string of tweets and retweets that eventually winds its way to an unsourced "trade rumor" that's generally just somebody saying, "Hey, maybe this will happen!"

Of course it never does.

To recap: A site that calls itself Pro Football Network (fancy title, 5,026 followers) tweeted Saturday night that "Trade talk is picking up. Keep an eye on guys like Kenny Stills and Alshon Jeffery."

This wasn't a sourced "report," it was just kind of idle speculation, which is totally within their right. But you know how these things go. They invariably snowball. 

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Fans are starving for every bit of information on their team, and that's understandable. But that's how speculation turns to rumors and rumors turn to reports.

This just in: Alshon Jeffery isn't getting traded.

Come on now.

Why would the Eagles trade one of their most valued offensive pieces 15 days before opening day in a season where they have legitimate Super Bowl aspirations?

Think about it.

This year is all about making life as easy as possible for Carson Wentz. Getting him in a comfort zone, getting him through the season healthy, getting him to the playoffs intact.

Guess what wide receiver Wentz has targeted the most over the last two years? Guess which wideout he's completed the most passes to? The most touchdowns?

Jeffery.

Why on Earth would you get rid of Carson's favorite wide receiver two weeks before opening day? It makes zero sense.

We've all been impressed by JJ Arcega-Whiteside, and maybe one day he'll replace Jeffery. But you're talking about a guy who hasn't played a regular-season NFL snap vs. a guy who was a huge part of the Eagles' Super Bowl run two years ago. Not happening.

According to Spotrac's salary cap tracker, the Eagles have the third-oldest roster in the NFL. Which is fine. The two teams ahead of them are the Patriots and Saints. 

These are veteran-laden teams that are built to win in 2019.

When you're rebuilding, yeah, you trade for the future. Not when you're hoping to win 12 or 13 games and fight for a first-round bye.

What about Jadeveon Clowney? He's a guy who would help the Eagles immediately, but the Texans seem set at wideout with DeAndre Hopkins, Will Fuller and Keke Coutee, and they reportedly want a front-line left tackle in exchange for Clowney. And Jason Peters and Andre Dillard obviously aren't going anywhere.

Neither is Jeffery. 

No matter what Twitter says.



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