By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor 
The Eagles have made the decision on Tim Jernigan official. The team officially declined their 2019 option on Jernigan’s contract Monday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Eagles are not picking up Tim Jernigan's option year and he will be a free agent on March 13, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 4, 2019
The Eagles may have wanted to keep Jernigan around, but with a $13 million cap hit, there was no way that was happening unless his deal was reworked. Jernigan wants to test the free agent market, so the Eagles instead put that money toward extending the home-grown Brandon Graham.
The Eagles will save $7 million in cap space by moving on from the veteran.
In a masterful move prior to the 2017 season, Howie Roseman acquired Jernigan, who was still on his rookie deal, simply for swapping draft picks and moving down 25 spots in the draft (The move down is where they landed cornerback Rasul Douglas). Jernigan was brought in to replace Bennie Logan as he departed in free agency.
The Birds benefited greatly from Jernigan’s presence alongside both Fletcher Cox and Beau Allen, allowing the team to use an effective rotation and allow the trio to be better rested and healthier as they got to the playoffs and Super Bowl LII.
Jernigan essentially missed the entire season, playing only 45 snaps in the final few weeks of the season. He registered just two tackles and a quarterback hit. His snap count is the fewest of any Eagles defensive lineman with even DaeShon Hall and T.Y. McGill each taking over 50 snaps and many fans may not even know who either of them are.
The Eagles currently have three defensive tackles under contract in 2019: Fletcher Cox, Treyvon Hester and Brice Hector. That means there will essentially be no depth at the position right now.
That depth will likely come from the draft with the Eagles likely to pick one of Clemson’s defensive tackles (Christian Wilkins or Dexter Lawrence) with their first round pick as an inexpensive replacement to Jernigan.
There is a possibility Jernigan returns, however, as details on how or why he was suddenly injured last offseason have not been made public and his 45 snaps were very uninspiring. It is hard to imagine a team giving Jernigan a massive deal like he seems to be looking for. If he does not receive an offer like the one he is hoping for, he could return to the Eagles on a prove-it deal and test the market next offseason (which would be good for the Eagles as they could then net a compensatory pick in the 2021 draft instead of getting nothing as they would now).
Free agency begins March 13, which is when Jernigan will be able to see how other teams value his services.
