WR Maclin leaving Eagles for Chiefs
The wild ride of subtraction and addition apparently will continue with the Philadelphia Eagles because receiver Jeremy Maclin plans to reunite with former coach Andy Reid on the Kansas City Chiefs once free agency officially begins Tuesday, according to league sources.
The Chiefs will need to clear salary-cap space to sign Maclin, whose new contract will be worth $11 million per season, a source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. That's in the range of what Randall Cobb received to stay with the Green Bay Packers at $10 million per year. Unlike Cobb, who chose to remain with his team, Maclin is prepared to depart Philadelphia coming off his best season in which he had 85 catches for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns. He played on a one-year, $5.25 million contract in 2014 after missing 2013 with an ACL injury.
Reid was the head coach when the Eagles drafted Maclin in 2009 out of Missouri. Maclin will turn 27 on May 11.
One candidate to become a cap casualty for the Chiefs is veteran receiver Dwayne Bowe, who counts $14 million against the team's salary cap for 2015. Bowe would represent a $5 million cap savings if he is counted as a pre-June 1 cut and $11 million if he receives a post-June 1 designated cut.
No Chiefs receiver had a touchdown catch in 2014.
It will be the second straight offseason the Eagles have lost their leading receiver. They chose to cut DeSean Jackson shortly after the 2013 season. This time, the Eagles made an effort to sign Maclin, but negotiations slowed considerably once he began communicating with other teams.
Maclin tore his ACL during his first training camp under coach Chip Kelly. He missed Kelly's first season with the Eagles and signed a one-year contract after the 2013 season to establish his value in 2015.
He was the Eagles' first-round pick in the 2009 NFL draft. Playing in Reid's offense, Maclin was generally the second option behind Jackson. In his first four seasons with the Eagles, Maclin averaged 65 receptions for 863 yards and 6.5 touchdowns.
ESPN.com Eagles reporter Phil Sheridan contributed to this report.
