The injury suffered by Jeremy Maclin in Eagles training camp Saturday was apparently as bad as expected. The fifth-year receiver out of Missouri has torn the ACL in his right knee, the team announced on Saturday afternoon.
Jeremy Maclin injury: Eagles WR tears ACL
Jeremy Maclin tore the ACL in his right knee Saturday, leaving the Eagles without their second wide receiver behind DeSean Jackson -- and Maclin without a chance to show off in his contract year.
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Maclin is in the final year of a rookie contract that pays him $3.2 million this season and was hoping for a strong year to prove his worth on the free agent market. He won’t have that opportunity now, however, leaving teams to judge him on his first four years -- and gamble that he’s able to recover.
It's less of a blow for the Eagles because they still have their top receiver, DeSean Jackson, and Jason Avant is still a serviceable wide receiver. The team also acquired Arrelious Benn via trade from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Riley Cooper is a solid fifth option. None of them possesses the speed and big play ability of Maclin, however, because Avant is a slot/possession type, Benn hasn't shown the potential the Buccaneers saw when they drafted him in the second round in 2010 and Cooper hasn't shown the ability to be a No. 2 receiver, either.
If there’s a silver lining, it’s that Maclin has already shown his resilience after suffering a similar injury: He tore his right ACL in 2006, also in 7-on-7 drills, and missed his entire freshman season at Missouri. His recovery was unbelievable at that time, though, when he record the 2,776 all-purpose yards (the fifth-most in NCAA history and most ever by a freshman) en route to scoring nine receiving touchdowns, four rushing touchdowns, two punt return touchdowns, a kick return touchdown and earning consensus all-American honors.
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