For two seasons now, it has been apparent Jackson is seriously underpaid. The Eagles' response has been to dither. Last year, they couldn't possibly do a deal because of complications arising from the expiring CBA. This year, apparently they don't think agent Drew Rosenhaus has been reasonable in his assessment of where Jackson ranks among NFL wideouts. After all, Jackson is small, it turns out, and he also can be a pain in the butt.
After this latest blowup, it sure seems we are on the road to something like the Birds' franchising Jackson to keep him from leaving in free agency, then trading him, probably for something not all that wonderful, given the season he is having and the contract situation.
News flash, Eagles: If you end up trading a devalued DeSean for a handful of beans, it reflects on you. It potentially cripples your offense, and tarnishes one of your few early-round draft successes. Maybe down at the Cap-Managers Guild meetings, you get slaps on the back for holding the line, for not overpaying a guy who definitely is not Larry Fitzgerald, or even Santonio Holmes, on a consistent basis. But will not paying DeSean help you win games? Is having him brood and frown distractedly through 2011 OK, because at least you didn't overpay? I mean, all the other guys you did give the big money to this year are lighting it up for you, right?
"Me not being myself, it's been hard to come to work and be happy, just because of everything that's happened," Jackson told reporters yesterday, after addressing his teammates. He said a lot of other stuff, too, about not thinking the punishment was too harsh, and not faulting Reid, but the underlying theme was, not getting the contract done has been a big, big deal for Jackson, a guy who measures his status among his peers by the size of his paycheck, a guy who is exactly the same person now as he was when the Eagles decided to take him on in 2008.
