After some back and forth about his value or worth to the organization, the Philadelphia Eagles divorced themselves from Malcolm Jenkins, allowing him to become a free agent.
Jenkins ultimately signed with the New Orleans Saints, the organization that divorced Jenkins five years ago, allowing him to become an Eagle.
Jenkins thanked the fans in a heartfelt social media post a few days ago, and then penned the proper farewell in a long-form essay written in The Players Tribune.
In the piece, Jenkins spoke about the city of Philadelphia literally “breaking up” with him, while addressing whether or not he truly wanted to leave.
Maybe this sounds crazy — but it really does feel like I’m going through a breakup right now. Like I’m breaking up with my city. And as with anyone unlucky enough to have to go through a breakup during the era of social distancing, I’ve had plenty of opportunity to reflect on our time together.
PHILLY. We were together for six years!! You saw me at my best and at my worst. You were always good to me, but more than that you were always real with me. And I will forever love you.
Trust me: Being an 11-year veteran in this league, I know a lot better than to let my emotions get the best of me. “It’s a business,” everyone tells you. And it’s like, Yeah, man, I know — it’s a business. No emotions. Got it. So I’ve made it a point to never get emotionally attached to a team.
But no one ever warned me about getting emotionally attached to a CITY!!
Jenkins went on to say that his favorite moment as an Eagle was when Super Bowl LII ended, he fell to his knees, and “it really began to sink in.”
Jenkins ended the essay thanking the city for “teaching” him so many things while making it clear that he did his best to carry on Brian Dawkins’ leadership and style of play.