Malcom Jenkins Says He Never Wanted to Leave the Eagles

There are few in the world or sports as outspoken as Malcolm Jenkins, so when the Pro Bowl safety made a notable relocation from the Philadelphia Eagles to the New Orleans Saints in free agency, you knew you were going to hear about it from the man himself sooner rather than later.

Now, Jenkins has sounded off in his own words on the pages of The Players' Tribune, and notably, he makes it clear that he truly wanted to re-sign with the Eagles. All told, his attachment to the city had become something profound.

"[I]t’s a business. No emotions. Got it. So I’ve made it a point to never get emotionally attached to a team," he writes. "But no one ever warned me about getting emotionally attached to a CITY!!"

Sure, it's not doomsday for Jenkins, who instead signed a four-year contract with the Saints, a legitimate Super Bowl contender that also happened to draft him out of Ohio State in the 2009 NFL Draft. But at this point in his life, he had no reservations about seeing himself as a Philly lifer.

Despite his disinterest in any kind of market-setting, blockbuster deal, he just couldn't find a way to get the Eagles to re-sign him aand give him a chance to claim his place among the franchise's all-timers in the defensive backfield.

"I wanted a deal that showed me that my sacrifices to the game have been recognized. I’m no idiot. I know money is tied to timing, market value, age, the draft, and so on," he writes. "But legacy? That’s tied to the player, and to the name on the back of his jersey. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, I wasn’t able to ensure that my name would end up on the back of an Eagles jersey this year."

Indeed, "for whatever reason" may as well be the story of the NFL. Fortunately, in the story of Malcolm Jenkins, the reason you'll still see him around Philly someday soon comes with a highly specific reason: it's home.