Posted by Josh KatzowitzDeSean Jackson has had a rough year. He’s been clamoring for a contract extension for the past two years, and he’s not playing well in the ultra-important final year of his deal (he’s making just $600,000). Earlier this year, Terrell Owens, not necessarily a guy you want to take advice from when dealing with money situations, said Jackson should sit out games in protest.
Today, Jackson won’t have a choice in the matter.
According to the Philadelphia Daily News, Jackson completely missed a team meeting Saturday, and the team has told him he won’t be active for today’s game vs. the Cardinals.
It’s a season that has quickly turned into a nightmare for Jackson – who, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter missed the Saturday morning special teams meeting because his alarm didn’t go off and he overslept.
Jackson has been outspoken about wanting a new deal, and though the Eagles have said in the past that he deserves a new contract, he didn’t get one last year because of complications with the expiring CBA. Even though there’s a new agreement, that doesn’t mean he’s on the verge of getting a new deal right now.
Especially since he’s been rendered irrelevant for much of the season, making 29 receptions for 503 yards and two touchdowns while dropping passes and losing his ability as a deep threat.
“The defenses are trying to take away what we do best,” Jackson said this week. “We’ve got to be able to figure it out. Myself, at times, it’s frustrating, because I am used to making the big plays, scoring long touchdowns, things like that, but right now, it’s not really working. Defenses are not letting it happen. We’ve just got to figure it out.”
The acrimony between Jackson and the Eagles isn’t new. He raised eyebrows earlier this year when he said his health was his most important priority while winning games for the Eagles was No. 2*. Basically, he was saying he didn’t want to hurt himself only to lose out on his potential for a big new contract.
*Jackson isn’t the only player in the NFL who feels this way, but for him to verbalize it was a little surprising and probably not very business savvy.
And now, he’s becoming a bigger problem for the Eagles, who still have plenty of talent on offense but now have to deal with the fact their No. 1 receiver can’t bother to wake up for team meetings.
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