The Reggie Brown Debate

Side by side Reggie Brown coverage today, in which the typically classy wide receiver once again says all the right things.

I'm sure we'd all agree that when he got benched for the NFC Championship Game, we thought there was little chance he'd be back in 2009.  Not just because the Eagles don't usually keep former starters around, but because he's a solid player with an affordable contract -- for the next team that wouldn't have to pay his bonus -- who seemingly had some trade value.

But here we are in June and he's still here.  And not only is he here, he is by all accounts looking pretty darn good out there.

The current discussion seems to be missing a couple things, however.  Here's Smallwood's take:

Barring injury, Jackson, Curtis and Maclin will be in the rotation.

That leaves Brown in a battle with Avant and Hank Baskett - who both had more receiving yards than him last season - for the other remaining receiving slots.

To be blunt, if Avant and Baskett can offer the same things that Brown does, they'll be doing it at a considerably cheaper price.

The last point is important, but I don't think it makes sense to put these three guys on the same level as if this were a traditional position battle.  It's not. 

Jason Avant is going to make this team.  He's not as good an overall receiver as Reggie, but he does the Jason Avant things -- working the slot, catching everything, give McNabb an out -- better than anyone else does.  On third-and-eight against a tough defense, I want him out there.

That leaves Baskett and Brown.  And what's interesting is that Baskett could be the choice in an ideal universe, simply because he plays special teams and does it really well.  If you had to pick between these two guys as your fifth wide receiver -- let's say -- you'd go with Baskett, because he has value even when he's not playing much offense.

But the universe is rarely ideal, and there's a lot that could go wrong with this receiving corps.  Maybe Curtis reaggravates his groin injury.  Jackson is a tough dude, but he looks like he's one good hit from getting killed out there.  And for all we know Maclin is going to look great all summer and then put up 16 catches for 220 yards once the season rolls around.

Consider a plausible scenario.  It's week two, Curtis gets hurt, and suddenly you have to figure out whom to pair with Jackson.  Maclin looks good in limited action but makes the wrong read a couple times and suddenly the coaches lose confidence that he'll be where he needs to be.  You can't really put Avant outside and if you've ditched Reggie Brown, that leaves Hank Baskett.  We all like the guy, but based solely on what we've seen in the past, you're not going to get a ton of production out of that spot.

It's much easier if Reggie's on the squad.  You sub him in for Curtis, give Maclin some of his snaps and call it a day.  Easy-peasy and we know it would work.

So, if no one bails the Eagles out with a trade offer, they have a dilemma.  Do you keep the guy who helps you more when everything else works out?  Or do you keep the insurance policy around in case bad things start happening?

My gut feeling?  The Eagles aren't cutting Reggie Brown.  Especially not with a new special teams coach who may not feel quite as attached to the guys who've been here the last couple years.