The Philadelphia Eagles appear ready to trade DeSean Jackson this offseason and numerous reports of trade rumors have come up over the past couple weeks, with the Seattle Seahawks, Oakland Raiders, NY Jets, San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Panthers and Minnesota Vikings coming up as possible destinations and if a deal doesn't go down, Chip Kelly could release the wide receiver.
Reports about Jackson started coming up a couple weeks ago and while the Eagles were not shopping Jackson, they were "open" to listening to offers for him. Pro Football Talk reported that the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers were interested and may have made contact with the Eagles about a deal, but those teams later refuted those reports. Whether they have called or not, it appears the Eagles are ready to move on and one of main reasons for that is due to the high salary that Jackson has along with some attitude issues that have dogged him for a number of years.
Kelly doesn't usually use the small, speedy receivers like Jackson and on top of that he is not a fan of "me-first" players and this move could be another way for him to show total control of the team. ESPN.com reports that this could be a "power move" for Kelly and that if he has decided that Jackson is not a part of the team's future, he will get moved or released this offseason. Jackson is making $10.5 million next season and he has over $30 million left on his deal that he signed in 2012 and that is a lot to have attached to one player, especially with what the Eagles will need to do in the future, including with Nick Foles.
The Eagles brought back both Riley Cooper and Jeremy Maclin and Kelly also pulled off the trade for Darren Sproles, so he may feel that Jackson's production can get made up in other ways. Jackson was slow to come around on Kelly, but he ended up having one of his best seasons with 82 catches for 1,332 yards and nine touchdowns, but despite that, the rumors persist. The team feels that it can get past Jackson's production since they have other players to step up, but now it comes down to the compensation they can get for the receiver. CSN Philly reports that the team wants at least a third round pick for Jackson and while some teams could afford to make that deal, they may wait to see if he gets released.
The 49ers have double digit draft picks and that could lead them to making a deal, while ESPN.com reported that Jets owner Woody Johnson said he was interested in Jackson, as the team is always "interested in talent." (Um sidenote: the Jets apparently are only interested in talent after they totally mishandle their high draft pick quarterback in Mark Sanchez - because all they did for him before releasing him was get rid of talent for years and then wonder why he didn't put up great numbers. End of aside.) The Jets signed Eric Decker already this offseason and bringing on a player like Jackson could really open up the offense.