After weeks of shopping their number one receiver the Philadelphia Eagles have released Desean Jackson. Just a few days ago Desean Jackson posted on Instagram and Twitter that he thought he would be staying in Philadelphia and that the entire situation was in the past. This is why the league was shocked to hear of Jackson’s sudden release on Friday morning.
An unlimited amount of questions surround Jackson and why the Eagles released the 3-time Pro Bowl receiver. While shopping the receiver the Eagles cited character issues as their main reason they wished to part with Desean Jackson who has a history of missing meetings, poor player conduct, and poor work ethic. Jackson is not the first and will certainly not be the last player in the NFL to frustrate front offices due to poor work ethic but to cut a pro bowl receiver coming off of a career year in yards and touchdowns leads the league to believe more serious issues are present.
First reported on NJ.com, Desean Jackson has now been linked to several members of a LA street gang and was questioned earlier this year in a murder investigation. Jackson was never a suspect in the investigation. Jackson has been known to flash Crip gang sings on the field, most recently in a game against the Washington Redskins in 2013. Jackson has also been photographed flashing gang sings and posting the pictures on Instagram. In doing so, Desean Jackson has not broken any laws or committed any crime but has now paid a serious price for his reputation. Earlier this year Desean Jackson’s house was broken into and he reported over $250,000 worth of cash and jewelry stolen as well as a 9mm handgun.
In a post about Aaron Hernandez, NFL teams take any link between their players and potential gang affiliations very seriously. That being said these are two completely different situations. Hernandez was placed in custody and charged with murder, which prompted the Patriots to immediately release their former 4th round pick. Desean Jackson has not been accused of any crime. The only crime Jackson has ever been convicted of was one count of disturbing the peace in 2010. After releasing Jackson the Eagles stated that they did not want to trade Desean because they did not want to “pass his problems on to another team”.
In response his release and the NJ.com article Jackson stated “I am not and never have been part of any gang. I am not a gang member and to speculate and assume that I am involved in such activity off the field is reckless and irresponsible”
If within the Eagles organization affiliating with individuals of less than reputable character is now an offense worthy of being released, I question why the team not only never punished wide receiver Riley Cooper for his well known public and threatening use of an incredibly offensive racial slur but resigned him to a 5 year $25 million dollar contract. The coaching staff can not possibly believe that Cooper is more valuable on the field then Desean Jackson which leads me to believe that the Eagles are aware of something surrounding Jackson that the rest of the world is not. Whether or not this is the case the questions will continue to fly around this move by the Eagles.
Desean Jackson is now rated as the number one free agent on NFL.com’s list of players available. It will most likely be some time before Jackson signs with one of the many teams interested in his services including the New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders, New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks, and many more. Teams will also most likely wait for more information to surface about Jackson’s situation as well as draw up potential contracts that protect the team if for any reason they wish to release the troubled wide out.
Whichever team ends up landing Desean Jackson will get a game changing wide receiver with unlimited versatility. Jackson could propel one of the contenders of the 2014-15 season into the lead of the arms race that has been this year’s free agency.
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