According to San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch, the team is actively discussing a trade with wide receiver Marquise Goodwin. Goodwin has been the subject of trade rumors for a couple of weeks now, with some reports saying the 49ers could end up cutting him.
John Lynch said they are actively discussing a trade with Marquise Goodwin.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) April 20, 2020
Goodwin ended the year on injured reserve and appears to be at the end of the line in San Francisco. In 2019, he caught just 12 passes for 186 yards and one touchdown. In 2018, he caught 23 passes for 395 yards and four touchdowns. 2017 is what got people excited about Goodwin, though. During that season, he caught 56 passes for 962 yards and two touchdowns. Those yards per catch average out to 15.5, 17.2, and 17.2.
So, elephant in the room time. Should the Philadelphia Eagles be interested? If the cost is anything even remotely significant, then no, of course not. But he does have something that the Eagles sorely lack: speed. He is a flawed wide receiver with an injury history, but he is definitely someone the Eagles could use if we are talking about such an acquisition in a vacuum.
Goodwin is owed more than $11 million over the next two seasons. That seems steep for a small wide receiver coming off of two years of lackluster production, but it is worth noting that the Eagles could:
- Easily restructure that deal if they acquired him or
- Walk away from the contract at any point without any dead money on the salary cap
It is also worth noting that the team paid Nelson Agholor $9 million last season, so Goodwin would theoretically step into that vertical slot role for roughly half of the price of Agholor. He’s not an ideal addition, but the Eagles need help across the board at the position. Plus, there have also been reports this week linking Marquise Goodwin to a certain division rival…
Source: #Cowboys Eyeing NFL Trade For WRs ‘Like’ Christian Kirk or Marquise Goodwin https://t.co/3ScIJIspYd via @SInow pic.twitter.com/vO3uqvvNaS
— fishsports (@fishsports) April 19, 2020
Would Marquise Goodwin to the Eagles be an exciting transaction? No, not really. But like we discussed earlier today in a piece on the recently-released Marqise Lee, the Eagles are likely to draft multiple wide receivers in the NFL Draft and could use a veteran wide receiver to help bridge that gap for a year. And he does have speed, which the Eagles desperately lack. If the price is a fourth or fifth-round pick, then it probably isn’t worth it. But what if the deal is Rasul Douglas straight up or Douglas and a conditional seventh-round pick in 2021? That’s a low-risk move the Eagles could feel good about.
Update: Natalie Egenolf is reporting that the Eagles and 49ers are having discussions about Marquise Goodwin:
