Eagles news: Philadelphia reworks Timmy Jernigan contract following injury

The Philadelphia Eagles received some bad news with defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan requiring surgery which will cost him four to six months. As a result of the recovery time, the team has reworked his contract rather than releasing him.

The Philadelphia Eagles earlier this week had to come to terms with the news that budding star defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan will be out for the next four-to-six months due to surgery to repair a herniated disc. This has put the franchise in a tough position of having to decide on his future with the team.

Instead of parting ways with him, the Eagles have decided to rework his deal with the team that has significantly dropped his amount of guaranteed money for the 2018 NFL season, according to Adam Schefter and Field Yates of ESPN.

The injury easily could have ended Jernigan's time in Philadelphia, with the Eagles releasing him and declining to pay him, since he suffered the injury during an off-season workout in March. But instead, the Eagles reworked his contract and will now pay him $3 million guaranteed this season, but no longer will be liable for the $11 million guaranteed that was due next season, as part of the four-year $48 million extension he signed after being acquired in a trade with Baltimore.

The adjustment to the deal will only impact the 2018 campaign as the final three years of the four-year, $48 million extension that he signed last November will remain the same. He is set to make $11 million in 2019 followed by $12 million in 2020, and $12 million in the 2021 campaign.

In his first season with the Eagles, Jernigan quickly proved to be a significant factor along the defensive front recording 29 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 15 games played. His presence helped bring additional depth to the defensive line while playing in a starting role alongside Pro Bowler Fletcher Cox.

With Jernigan out of the mix over the next several months, the Eagles will continue to monitor the situation to get a better determination of how long he will be out of the mix. The team appears to be well prepared for any length of absence as the front office has brought aboard both veteran defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Bennett that should help mask what Jernigan brings to the fold.