Just one day after Eagles fans bid farewell to Carson Wentz, it looks as though they’ll be doing the same to another fan-favorite. DeSean Jackson posted an Instagram story on Friday hinting at his release from the team.
The message read:
‘Looking forward to my next chapter. The best deep threat in the NFL coming to a City near you. Philadelphia is always love. Appreciate everything.’
The writing had been on the wall for quite some time. DeSean Jackson’s return to Philadelphia was filled with injury setbacks. As a result, he played in only 8 games over the past two seasons, recording 395 yards and 3 touchdowns, averaging 17.2 yards per reception.
It’s a real shame that D-Jax couldn’t keep the wheels moving with the Eagles. He signed a three-year contract worth $27.9M which ultimately stung them when he was sidelined. Depth behind Jackson was minimal and despite flashes of absolute brilliance like his return against Washington in the opening game of 2019, there just wasn’t enough to facilitate his return for a third year in a season where the Eagles need to prioritize a rebuild.
If this is made official, then Jalen Reagor should be in-line to take over the Z role after a quiet rookie season. He possesses many of the same traits DeSean Jackson does but was unable to show many during a slow season of his own.
The Eagles are unable to announce anything until the start of the league year, but there’s a chance that Jackson is trying to jump the gun and establish a market for himself.
This is the first of several big decisions the Eagles will have to make this offseason. Getting rid of DeSean Jackson’s contract will save them $4.8M in cap space, moving them to around $35M over the cap. There is still some work to be done until they break even, but the dominos are beginning to fall so expect some more players to be posting goodbyes soon ahead of the official start of free agency on March 17th of this year.
Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire
