The Dallas Cowboys made a couple of questionable moves this past weekend with the trade of Amari Cooper and the resigning 26-year-old Michael Gallup to a five-year $62.5 million deal.
Gallup’s contract comes as a surprise because the receiver has never posted a 1,000-yard season and is also coming off a torn ACL late in the year. While a $12.5M average annual salary certainly raised eyebrows around the league, it did make one thing very clear:
The market for receivers on the market is going to be high, and the Eagles will be directly involved.
Whether it’s the report of the team being involved in talks to trade for Falcons WR, Calvin Ridley, or other reports saying the Eagles will be looking for a top receiver on the open market, Philadelphia is going hunting this season for a wideout to pair with DeVonta Smith.
The market gets set based on contracts given to receivers on the market. If Gallup is the first receiver to fall in this long domino chain, then other receivers like Allen Robinson, DJ Chark, and even younger names like JuJu Smith-Schuster can expect to make more money on the open market than originally thought.
An example of this is the Allen Robinson negotiation. Per Spotrac, Robinson is expected to make close to $16.3 million annually and potentially a four-year, $65.5 million contract. Do the Eagles go after a player like Robinson at his cost?
Or how about a player like DJ Chark? Spotrac has his contract around $12 million per year. He comes with a cheaper price tag than Robinson and less production while also coming off an injury. Gallup is expected to miss some time to start next season, just like Chark.
JuJu Smith-Schuster is probably the next big name out there on the market. His 2021 annual average was around $8 million but is also coming off an injury. JuJu could be one of the receivers that missed out on a lot of money now, but takes on a cheaper deal in a bid to secure a much bigger bag down the line.
The big three free-agent wide receivers have a lot of interest. While Eagles fans and analysts can speculate on which weapons would be available, the cost is always a large question. The Eagles have plenty of flexibility to go after any receiver they want. But the contract that was given to Michael Gallup can ultimately show the overall market for other receivers available.
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