In a bizarre move, wide receiver Marquise Goodwin has reverted back to the San Francisco 49ers from the Philadelphia Eagles per the terms of the trade the two teams agreed to during last year’s NFL Draft. It is not immediately clear what those terms were or if Goodwin opting out of the 2020 season caused his rights to revert back to the 49ers.
In the 2020 NFL Draft, The Eagles received Goodwin and pick No. 210 overall in the draft in exchange for pick No. 190. Goodwin never played a down for the Eagles.
Goodwin was due to earn $4.5 million for the 2021 season, but none of that money was guaranteed. There were reports that the Eagles and Goodwin could talk about restructuring his contract to keep him in Philadelphia since they are hard up against the salary cap in 2021, but that was obviously not the case.
The Eagles have yet to make any additions in free agency but have now lost Jalen Mills, Rudy Ford, and Marquise Goodwin in the last couple of days, though they likely knew Goodwin’s status already.
As for wide receivers currently on the roster, the Eagles have 2020 draft picks Jalen Reagor, Quez Watkins, and John Hightower to go with J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Greg Ward, Travis Fulgham, and Deontay Burnett. Alshon Jeffery is technically still on the roster but is expected to be officially released soon.
Goodwin was an intriguing option as a vertical slot wide receiver for the 2021 season, but the guess here is that they are happier to have the cap relief. Expect the Eagles to be active in their efforts to improve the wide receiver position in both free agency and the upcoming NFL Draft.
Update: It appears that Goodwin’s contract was never officially reworked since he opted out of the 2020 season, and that was a condition of the trade. Since that condition was never met, Goodwin is reverting to the 49ers, and the Eagles are getting the 49ers’ original 2021 seventh-round pick.
Mike Kaye of NJ.com has more about the unusual transaction.
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Mike Maher is the editor and publisher of The Birds Blitz. Follow him on Twitter @mikeMaher and @TheBirdsBlitz and check out his archive for all of his latest stories about the Eagles and the NFL.
