Philadelphia Eagles: DeSean Jackson has beef with Donovan McNabb

After a notoriously quiet month of May, the Philadelphia Eagles are slowly getting back into the swing of things, and believe you me, that is a wonderful thing.

Fans can finally get a glimpse of players new and old on the field together, quotes are abundant on everything from gun violence to strength levels, and before we collectively know it, the preseason will be in full swing following a summer full of fun speculation.

But hey, just because the 2022 Eagles are officially back doesn’t mean there aren’t more than a few stories related to the Philly teams of yore that aren’t worth discussing too.

No, in one of the weirder stories you’ll read about all day, DeSean Jackson has a bone to pick with then-Philadelphia Eagles teammate Donovan McNabb, a player who formally retired all the way back in July of 2013. Buckle up, folks; this is a weird one.

D Jax was clearly happy the Philadelphia Eagles made a QB change in 2010.

Did you know DeSean Jackson was the first player in NFL history to start at two different positions in the Pro Bowl? Well, according to the man himself, it’s true, and for the most part, his teammates were very happy he accomplished the feat at the end of the 2009 season.

One of the lone exceptions? That would be Donovan McNabb, who told his then-backup, Michael Vick, that he didn’t think Jackson deserved to start at both wide receiver and as a return man in what was, is, and likely will remain the least consequential game of the NFL season.

Now granted, Jackson never broached the topic to McNabb directly either at the time or presumably in the years since, which could create a very awkward situation where Number 5 will learn about this beef via Brandon Marshall‘s I Am Athlete like the rest of us, but if it’s true – and, considering LeSean McCoy was also in the room nodding along, it probably is – maybe the “good ole days” of the post-Super Bowl Andy Reid-era wasn’t as harmonious at it seemed when Chip Kelly was driving out his stars in a weird cultural Civil War?

Further on in the conversation, McCoy noted how MnNabb once made Jackson pay $25 to get into an “all-white” party and wouldn’t buy drinks for his teammates who were still on their rookie-scale contracts. If true, that isn’t really the worst imaginable situation but is hardly what you’d expect to see from a quarterback looking to make his wide receivers, the very people who help him do his job, happy.

Goodness, 2009 was a weird year indeed.

Should fans be particularly surprised to hear that two members of the Philadelphia Eagles weren’t particularly close? On a macro level, no, not really; plenty of people don’t like every single person they work with, and that will probably be true for the remainder of human existence. It’s just a bit of a bummer that DeSean Jackson and Donovan McNabb, who connected on oh so many of the team’s all-time highlights, weren’t exactly tight when the clocks hit zero, and the lights went down at the Linc.