Is Jason Avant In the Philadelphia Eagles' Long-Term Plans?

Every team wants a receiver like Jason Avant. You know what you're going to get with him: Sharp routes. Strong hands. A guy that isn't afraid to go across the middle and take a hit.

As the holidays approach, the Eagles, like everyone else, have begun opening their pocketbook.  Winston Justice received a contract extension just before Thanksgiving, making him an Eagle through the 2013 season.  Just this week, the Eagles also extended Brent Celek's contract through the 2016 season.

So when does Jason Avant receive his new contract?  Like Justice and Celek, Avant has played well and done what the Eagles have asked of him.  He's shown he can contribute on special teams and seems to come up with a big third-down conversion more often than the other Eagles' receivers.

With weapons like DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin at receiver, though, Avant may be the odd man out.  Jackson will want a new contract of his own sometime in the next year or two.  Avant is certainly an important part of the Eagles offense, but Jackson has become the spark-plug for the Eagles passing attack.  Thus, Jackson's long-term status will undoubtedly take priority over Avant's.

At the same time, there is a bit of urgency regarding Avant's contract because he will be a free agent after the season.  On the other hand, with the Collective Bargaining Agreement unlikely to be extended and 2010 to be uncapped, Avant would be a restricted free agent and the Eagles would be able to tender him for a relatively small price for that year.

In 2009, the highest tender offer available, the first-and third-round compensation offer, was $2.792 million.  The year prior to that, the highest tender offer available was $2.562 million.

Even if the first-and third-round compensation package were to end up above $3.0 million for 2010 free agency, the Eagles would probably be better off tendering Avant at that price than offering him a long-term contract extension.

That's even assuming the Eagles are terrified of losing Avant.  If the Eagles want to, they could give Avant a lower tender offer and pay Avant less.  The only risk would be: the lower the tender offer, the lower the compensation another team would have to pay, the more likely a team would offer Avant a deal.

As it is now, no matter how reliable Avant is, the Eagles are unlikely to offer him a long-term deal.  For the Eagles, there is no point in offering guaranteed money and years to a player, especially considering (a) what happened with Reggie Brown and (b) the risk of an injury occurring.  After the uncapped season, the Eagles may or may not extend Avant, but for now they'll probably take a wait-and-see approach to the situation.