Jenkins Won’t Return Without New Deal

PHILADELPHIA (973espn.com) - The Eagles' most versatile and dependable defender, veteran safety Malcolm Jenkins, laid down the law less than 24 hours after Philadelphia's 17-9 Wild Card Weekend loss to Seattle.

The 32-year-old ironman went on the record again when it came to his contract situation.

Jenkins rarely misses a practice never mind a game so it raised some red flags when the locker-room leader skipped voluntary workouts last spring, a signal to the front office that Jenkins wanted a tweak to his deal.

Ultimately Jenkins returned for mandatory work but noted that he believed he had outperformed his contract and was deserving of a raise. Some speculated there was a wink-wink deal and the Eagles would take care of Jenkins after the season because the club did not want to set the precedent of re-working a contract with two years remaining.

That doesn't seem to be the case, however, as Jenkins drew a line in the sand Monday telling reporters that he would not return to Philadelphia for the 2020 season without a reworked deal.

“I won’t be back on the same deal. That won’t happen,” Jenkins explained.

Jenkins has been the one constant in a revolving back end for Jim Schwartz, playing 100 percent of the defensive snaps in 2018 and 99.4 percent this season.

He's never missed a game for Philadelphia since signing as a free agent before the 2014 season and registered a career-high four forced fumbles this season while also matching his career-best with 2 1/2 sacks, further supplementing that with another sack of Russell Wilson in the playoffs on Sunday.

"I'm not one to beg," Jenkins said. "I'm a very private person so I feel like what I put out there this year -- what I put on tape -- given this team is more than enough. I can't give any more so I feel good about that. That will be good enough for me to go in this offseason with a certainty that I'll be fine."

-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973espn.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen