The LeSean McCoy trade came as a shock to everybody, and the ripple effects are still being felt around the league. While pundits and fans will debate why Chip Kelly decided to do it and if the swap was warranted, Jeremy Maclin made it clear through his agents how he feels.
Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweeted Tuesday night of the team’s negotiations with Maclin: “Deal was close for some time, not as close recently and he’s getting nibbles. Eagles have to up ante w/ McCoy leak.”
Can you blame him? McCoy’s incredible talent demanded extra attention from opposing defenses every week. With him gone, that added pressure then falls on guys like Maclin. We’d want more money, too, if we were expected to get hit a lot more often. As to who will pay the man if he were to hit the open market, ESPN is reporting:
On Tuesday, Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News suggested Tuesday that Maclin could be a player the San Francisco 49ers consider, even if it means overpaying for him.
“If Maclin’s asking price is above $8M per… that might not be a number the 49ers can meet,” Kawakami admitted, before adding, “But if (Trent) Baalke, Jed York and Paraag Marathe are in the mood to chase a free-agent WR and maybe over-pay for a rare time, I think Maclin is the kind of receiver they’d circle — under 27, recently productive, and somebody who can run under Colin Kaepernick’s deep passes.”
That’d be an interesting pairing. Keep it locked here for the updates, the NFL hot stove is just starting to heat up.