The Philadelphia Eagles signed ex-Giants receiver Steve Smith to a one-year $4 million dollar deal yesterday, crushing any rumors about Smith possibly re-signing with his old team. But is there any real fantasy football value to speak of here?
Since 2007, Smith has caught 220 balls for 2,386 yards and 11 touchdowns in only 46 games. But microfracture surgery has been at the forefront of Smith's career this off-season, despite his despire to stay in New York.
The Philadelphia Eagles, on the other hand, gave Smith a hard look and made a clever call in regard to their roster with Smith's acquisition.
Already flanked by DeSean Jackson (ranked 8th in WR Rankings) and Jeremy Maclin (ranked 9th in WR Rankings), the Eagles are solidified on the outside, and with Jason Avant in the slot, it initially appears that Smith will be a situational receiver when he is healthy enough to play.
But again, is there any real fantasy value here?
Althought the Giants medical staff felt Smith's knee was too much of a liability to keep him, the Eagles medical staff suggests otherwise, and even feel as if Smith won't have to begin the season on the PUP list as originally thought according to Adam Schefter on Twitter.
The moral of the story here is simply this: The other part of Smith's deal is that the Eagles guarunteed him $ 2 million dollars which means Smith will be doing something on this team, but even with the most recent news, the liklyhood of Smith contributing significantly at the beginning of the season is pretty low.
Smith isn't worth a draft pick right now with so much uncertainty surrounding him, but if he does recover nicely, and begin contributing on a regular basis by mid-October, he'll be one of the hottest names off the waiver wire this 2011 fantasy football season.
