Philadelphia Eagles: DeSean Jackson’s return to Philly has become a curse

DeSean Jackson is hurting the Philadelphia Eagles more than he is helping them.

Ever since his wrongful release at the hands of former GM/HC Chip Kelly, Philadelphia Eagles fans have been clamoring for the team to reacquire DeSean Jackson. It made sense, seeing as DJax was one of the most exciting players in franchise history, and was continuing to have productive seasons following his release from Philly.

Following a 2018 season where the team struggled with their ability to stretch the field, general manager Howie Roseman finally pulled the trigger. Agreeing to a late-round pick swap with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Roseman brought back the veteran speedster, promptly handing him a 3-year/$28 million extension as well.

The logic was fairly simply. Give the strong armed Carson Wentz a legit deep threat with WR1 potential, and watch elite offensive production ensue. The duo’s chemistry was hitting all offseason long, and they immediately put in on display during the team’s Week 1 home win over Washington. Jackson recorded 8 catches for 154 yards and 2 touchdowns, and it looked like Wentz had finally found himself his go-to target moving forward.

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Since that exciting Week 1 return, Jackson has simply been a shell of his former self. He logged just 1 more reception in 2019, missing the majority of the season due to a core injury. Now in 2020, things aren’t looking too much better. He has 10 receptions for 121 yards, but has yet to actually stretch the field with one of his iconic deep streaks. He left the Bengals game early due to injury, and was constantly subbing in and out during the team’s first two games.

Jackson hasn’t just struggled to be productive for the Philadelphia Eagles over the last 19 games, but he’s actually starting to step dangerously close to being a burden on the team.

Large cap number aside for the moment, Jackson’s presence on the Eagles has left the front office with a false sense of security regarding their receiver position two years in a row. The team waltzed into this season without seriously addressing their WR position (outside of some rookies who were always going to struggle due to a shortened offseason), fully expecting Jackson to show up as a 1,200 yard receiver for some reason.

While DJax has undoubtedly been a huge playmaker for the majority of his career, it was always foolish of Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia front office to expect such huge things from a 30+ year old veteran. He hasn’t played in 16 regular season games since 2013, and his recent injury history is pretty damning when taking into account the type of style that he plays with. At 34 years old, it’s really tough to return to action 100% following abdominal surgery.

In an alternate reality, maybe not having Jackson on the roster would have prompted Roseman into pursuing Stefon Diggs or DeAndre Hopkins, or trading up to snag CeeDee Lamb.

Jackson is still a nice player to have when healthy, but the simple reality is that he’s doing more damage to the Philadelphia Eagles organization than he is doing good. He’s recorded just 19 total receptions since being reacquired, and his hefty price tag has left the team in a tight spot to upgrade the WR position (outside of bargain bin trades like Marquise Goodwin).

Jackson’s lack of productivity likely wouldn’t be such a big storyline if someone like JJ Arcega-Whiteside wasn’t completely useless, but that’s a story for a different day. The Philadelphia Eagles are paying DJax roughly 9 million a season to make big plays on offense, and instead, he’s spent the majority of the last two seasons sat on the bench.

Oh, and we didn’t even mention his unprompted anti-semitism this past offseason. Not cool DeSean.