Eagles Reportedly Made The Decision To Move On From DeSean Jackson Over A Month Ago

 

Update:

Jimmy Kempski of the Philadelphia Inquirer has confirmed with sources that the Eagles made the decision to move on without WR DeSean Jackson over a month ago, and possibly earlier than that.

• Kempski adds that parting ways with Jackson is “absolutely not something they decided to do over the last week or two.”

The consensus appears to be that, while NFL teams do have interest in Jackson, they are reluctant to trade for him given that his salary is quite high, and they would have to part with draft picks to make a trade work.

The Patriots, 49ers, Jets, Raiders, Chiefs, and Panthers have come up as potential options for Jackson as well.

Jackson, 27, is entering the third year of his five-year, $47 million contract that includes $15 million guaranteed. He has a sizable 2014 base salary of $10.5 million to go along with a cap figure of $12.75 million.

In 2013, Jackson totaled 82 receptions for 1,332 yards receiving and nine touchdowns.

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According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the 49ers are “very interested” in WR DeSean Jackson, despite the fact that GM Trent Balke recently denied previous reports connecting them to Jackson.

“Right now, he’s under contract with the Philadelphia Eagles,” Baalke said Sunday, via CSN Bay Area. “We’ve not made any contact with the Eagles relative to a trade for DeSean Jackson.”

“As of this moment, those reports are totally misleading and false,” Baalke added.

There are obviously some mixed signals being relayed to the media regarding the 49ers interest in Jackson, but there is no question they could use another weapon in their offense next season.

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According to David Newton of ESPN.com, the Panthers are not an option for WR DeSean Jackson, despite previous reports that have mentioned Carolina as a team with interest.

• Newton adds that, even if Jackson were to be released, the Panthers would be able to meet his asking price as a free agent.

Trading for Jackson would require the Panthers to part with valuable draft picks while taking on his $10.25 million salary, which given their current cap situation, seems unrealistic.

The Panthers have already added a low-cost receivers in Jerricho Cotchery and Tiquan Underwood, so it seems realistic to think they will continue to shop for value and build through the draft until they’re in a better cap situation.

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Ian Rapoport reported Monday morning that the Raiders are “intrigued” by WR DeSean Jackson.

• However, Rapoport’s sources added that Oakland is not inclined to give up a 2014 draft pick to acquire him.
• The Raiders, much like a number of teams, would have interest in him if he were to be to released.

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Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, citing a source with direct knowledge of the team’s thinking, reports that the Seahawks have “no interest at all” in trading for WR DeSean Jackson.

A previous report mentioned that the 49ers and Seahawks both had shown interest in Jackson, but San Francisco has since refuted the report.

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Jets owner Woody Johnson told reporters during Sunday’s owners meeting that WR DeSean Jackson is one of several players the Jets are currently considering at this point in the offseason.

“We’re looking at a number of players, including DeSean,” Johnson said, via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

• Johnson did say that their interest in Jackson would only be “at the right price,” which coincides with multiple reports that have suggested as much in recent days.
•  Johnson also added that their interest was also contingent upon whether or not Jackson “fits into the culture of our locker room,” per Ian Rapoport.

At this point in time, it appears as though the only way for Jackson to end up on a new team would be for the Eagles to release him.

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According to Rich Cimini of ESPN New York, the Jets have a “measured interest” in WR DeSean Jackson that would “intensify” if the Eagles were to cut him loose.

This really isn’t that surprising as the recent reports have indicated that NFL teams are reluctant trade for Jackson, as they believe the Eagles will ultimately release him at some point.

That’s not to say a trade is impossible, but Jackson’s salary looks to be an inhibiting factor as of now.

• Cimini mentions that Jackson may not be motivated to restructure his contract right now since it could prevent him from having a say in where he ultimately ends up.
• Cimini writes that bringing Jackson in could be “Santonio Holmes revisited” and adds that this would be “out of character” for GM John Idzik.

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Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star writes that the Chiefs are unlikely to pursue a trade for WR DeSean Jackson.

• Paylor does mention that Kansas City could have interest if he was to be cut loose.

The Chiefs have already traded a second-round pick to the 49ers as part of the Alex Smith trade, so it’s unlikely that they would be willing to meet the Eagles reported asking price of a third-round pick.

On top of that, Kansas City has limited cap space to work with, which means Jackson would have to rework his contract in order to make a deal work. Recent reports mentioned that Jackson is unlikely to rework his deal in order to facilitate a trade, so unless he’s cut loose, it seems the Chiefs are unlikely to be a landing spot.

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Jason La Canfora confirms that the Eagles have “stepped up efforts” to trade Jackson and are currently “exploring all options to move on without him.”

• La Canfora mentions that the Seahawks and 49ers are among the teams with interest Jackson.
• However, several GMs have told La Canfora that they do have interest in Jackson, but not at his current price tag.
• The GMs who spoke with La Canfora believe the Eagles will ultimately release him.
• Brian Costello reports that the Jets are have interest in Jackson, but not at the Eagles current asking price.

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A source tells Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News that the Eagles don’t want WR DeSean Jackson and are planning to either trade or release him this offseason.

“Philly is trading him or cutting him,” a source tells Mehta on Saturday. “That’s a fact. They don’t want him.”

Mehta’s source added that the Jackson is unwilling to renegotiate his current salary. However, Mehta seems to think that Jackson has no choice in the matter given that his cap figure is so high.

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Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, citing multiple NFL sources, reported on Friday that the Eagles have “intensified” their efforts to trade WR DeSean Jackson in the last week.

“He’s as good as gone,” said one source close to Jackson.

A separate source estimated that Jackson has a “less than five percent” chance of returning to Philadelphia next season.

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Tim McManus of phillymag.com writes that WR DeSean Jackson does not believe he will be with the Eagles next season.

This comes just after a report stated that the Eagles initiated a trade discussion with the Panthers.

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Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reports that the Raiders and Panthers have both contact the Eagles regarding WR DeSean Jackson.

• Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer mentions that unless DeSean Jackson takes a substantial pay cut, a move to Carolina will not happen.

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Ian Rapoport reports that the Jets are among the NFL teams that have inquired about the availability of WR DeSean Jackson.

• Rapoport mentions that the Jets will host free agent QB Michael Vick for a visit on Friday.
• Rapoport adds that Vick and Jackson are close, so this could be something to watch in the coming weeks.

The Patriots and 49ers have reportedly inquired about Jackson as well, but it’s hard to say if they could be options as of now given that their cap situations aren’t the best.

It’s been somewhat surprising to hear that Jackson could be available for trade given that he’s coming off his best statistical season of his career.

 

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Jimmy Kempski of Philly.com writes that the Eagles getting a third-round pick for WR DeSean Jackson “may actually be optimistic.”

• Derrick Gunn of CSN Philly reported earlier in the week that the Eagles were listening to offers for Jackson and were believed to be seeking a third-round pick in return for him.

Kempski mentions that Jackson’s value as a play is “unquestionably worth more to the Eagles than a 3rd round pick.”

However, that doesn’t mean that interested teams will consider parting with even that much draft compensation for a guy with a large salary and some other question marks.

Kempski believes the Eagles would be better off keeping Jackson than trading him for a third-round pick.

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Les Bowen, citing a “a more “official” DeSean Jackson source,” now reports that Eagles HC Chip Kelly hasn’t reach out to the wide receiver in recent days regarding the trade reports.

Bowen previously reported that Kelly had contacted Jackson and told him not to pay attention to the reports that they are taking calls from NFL teams regarding a trade.

The Eagles still haven’t commented on the recent reports, so it’s hard to say what exactly is going on regarding Jackson right now.

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Albert Breer of the NFL Network reports that the 49ers aren’t interested in trading for WR DeSean Jackson, due to their cap situation and the fact that they will have to address QB Colin Kaepernick at some point.

• Breer hasn’t been able to confirm that the 49ers called the Eagles regarding Jackson.
• Breer adds that cap issues are also a problem for the Patriots.

Ian Rapoport doesn’t believe the 49ers would have interest at that asking price.

• Rapoport adds that the Eagles “love trades” and “owe it to themselves to listen on a player with that price tag.”
• As for the Patriots, Rapoport mentions that they “love to inquire on everyone.”

Les Bowen spoke with a source close to DeSean Jackson who mentioned that Jackson wants to finish his career with the Eagles.

• According to the source, Jackson would be “really hurt” if he were traded for “no reason.“

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Derrick Gunn of CSN Philly reports that the Eagles have taken calls from teams interest in trading for WR DeSean Jackson and are listening to offers for him.

• According to Gunn, the Patriots and 49ers have both contact the Eagles regarding Jackson.
• The Eagles have reportedly informed Jackson that they are not actively trying to trade him, but they are listening to offers as of now.
• The report mentions that Philadelphia is looking for at least a third-round pick and potentially more for Jackson.

The Eagles reportedly fielded offers for Jackson last year and were seeking a second-round pick in return for him to start, but wound up dropping their asking price to a middle-round selection.