On Tuesday, Pro Football Talk published a quick post on Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan, noting that the Birds are "not expected to pick up Timmy Jernigan’s 2019 option." It's not really a report, and more of just common sense.
The details of Jernigan's contract aren't very clear to many, so we'll clear them up here. After Jernigan suffered his mysterious offseason back injury, the team renegotiated his deal and the guarantees were removed from his contract. Jernigan now is on a team option in 2019.
If the Eagles pick up Jernigan's option...
• He will be on the Eagles' cap in 2019 at $13 million. That would be $11 million in salary, plus a $2 million signing bonus proration.
If they don't pick up Jernigan's option...
• The Eagles will on the hook for the aforementioned $2 million signing bonus proration in 2019, plus $2 million each in 2020 and 2021, which would both accelerate into 2019. That would mean a dead money charge of $6 million.
• The Eagles' total savings in 2019 would be $7 million.
• Jernigan would count toward the compensatory pick formula, because the guarantees were removed, and the option was added. (In other words, they would be choosing not to exercise an option, as opposed to releasing him, the latter of which would negate his inclusion in the comp pick formula.)
It is extremely unlikely that the Eagles are going to pick up Jernigan's option. They will almost certainly either decline the option with Jernigan walking in free agency, or they will renegotiate a new deal with him, if Jernigan is open to a substantial pay cut. The most likely outcome is that the Eagles will simply decline the option, and Jernigan will walk.
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