Saints Quickly Reunite With Malcolm Jenkins After Eagles Foolishly Let Him Hit Free Agency
By Jerry Trotta
As expected, veteran defensive back Malcolm Jenkins didn't last very long on the open market.
Just a few days after the Philadelphia Eagles shockingly opted not to exercise their 2020 team option for the three-time Prowler, NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported on Wednesday the New Orleans Saints are on the verge of inking an agreement with Jenkins.
A reunion: The #Saints are close to a deal with safety Malcolm Jenkins — likely bringing back one of their former first-round draft choices and securing their back end. The #Eagles recently parted ways with Jenkins.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 18, 2020
Jenkins spent his first five seasons with the Saints, who drafted him No. 14 overall out of Ohio State back in 2009, which was the year the team famously won its first ever Super Bowl.
A reunion makes all of the sense in the world, and it's apparently one that New Orleans head coach Sean Payton has been wishing for for quite some time. Last season, Payton was asked about letting Jenkins test the open market after the 2013 campaign, and his answer proves the Saints were going to pursue Jenkins if the Eagles made the same mistake.
Sean Payton last year: "Probably one of the bigger mistakes that we’ve made, and you have to ask yourself how did that happen? Letting him out of the building certainly wasn’t a smart decision.”
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 18, 2020
Well, he's almost back. https://t.co/5VZ4SYpmEF
Like he did immediately after the Saints decided not to retain him, you can bet that Jenkins will be motivated to make the Eagles regret letting him go. Better yet, the 32-year-old will do so on a team with championship aspirations.