Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
I'm going to show my age here for a second, but those kinds of meaningless platitudes remind me of that devious Eddie Haskell repeatedly telling Mrs. Cleaver how lovely she looked on "Leave It to Beaver." (Google it, kids.)
Whether Jackson returns for a fifth season with the Eagles, either as the recipient of a new long-term contract or with the 1-year franchise tag around his neck, will have everything to do with what Jackson's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, is telling club president Joe Banner, and nothing to do with the 25-year-old Jackson finally deciding to act like a grown up last December.
If Rosenhaus still is telling Banner that Jackson wants to be one of the league's seven or eight highest-paid wideouts, you can kiss little DeSean goodbye. No new deal. And probably no franchise tag.
With the free-agency signing period set to begin on March 13, NFL teams have a 2-week window starting today to place the franchise tag on one of their free agents-to-be.
Jackson already has said he would have no objection to being franchised, which is no surprise. If the Eagles franchise him and he signs the 1-year tender, he would be guaranteed nearly $10 million next season, which is more guaranteed money than he can expect to get in a new contract with the Eagles or another team.
The popular thinking is that, even if they don't want him back, the Eagles must franchise Jackson so they can hang on to his rights and get something for him in a trade.
I understand the rationale, but there are a couple of problems with that strategy. First, if they franchise Jackson strictly for the purpose of trading him, it's fairly likely they would try to sign a replacement when the free-agency signing period begins on March 13. Wide receiver is expected to be one of the deepest positions on the free-agent market.
