Eagles Fans Should Be Furious After Learning Why Malcolm Jenkins Ultimately Left Philadelphia

If all of these reports are true, the situation with Malcolm Jenkins was a layup for the Philadelphia Eagles, and they completely blew it.

We knew all along Jenkins was not going to be playing the 2020 season under his paltry team option salary. He rightfully wanted a raise for all he's done for the defense over the last six years. But he reportedly wasn't being unreasonable with his financial demands: Jenkins just wanted a raise up from his $7.6 million salary for 2020, as well as another year added to his deal for 2021. The Eagles couldn't make that happen, and now, he's back where his NFL career began with the New Orleans Saints.

According to insider Jeff McLane, the only concession the Eagles were willing to make for Jenkins was merely "tweaking" his 2020 salary, and we don't know how far those discussions went. That's beyond weak given all he's done for the team, which is highlighted by his efforts in helping the Eagles secure their first Super Bowl victory in franchise history.

Fans have no reason to be mad at anybody aside from general manager Howie Roseman here. The Eagles still have almost $25 million in cap space, so there's no excuse why this deal couldn't get done. Philly could have rolled out a secondary featuring Jenkins and Darius Slay for the next two seasons; they opted not to for reasons that are hard to grasp.

When the Eagles are suffering at the safety position in hoping Rodney McLeod and Jalen Mills pick up the load left behind by Jenkins, everyone will know whom to blame.