LET’S be clear on something: I do not want to discuss DeSean Jackson‘s merits or faults on or off the field. The only reason I’m bring up his name is because he is on the other end of this story.
What I do want to discuss is his release from the Eagles. Back on March 26th I wrote an article that gave the reason he’d be leaving. That reason was money.
In a nutshell, the Eagles wouldn’t have been able to afford him in 2015. Replacing him with a FA in 2015 wouldn’t be cost-effective, and next year’s Draft won’t be as deep at WR. This years Draft allows for a team to get what would normally be mid-2nd round talent, deep in the 3rd or early in the 4th round. That makes making this move now easier to do.
So why not just say it’s over money? Because that reflects poorly on GM Howie Roseman. This franchise let go of fiscal wizard Joe Banner in favor of Roseman. How would it look if they had to get rid of a key player with no replacement available, and say it was all at the feet of Jeff Lurie for backing the wrong guy? As it stands the Eagles are already looking at a salary cap crunch in 2015 that will have longtime fan favorites like Trent Cole packing his bags.
So why all the (alleged) leaks about Jackson? Because it makes his exit seem like it’s his fault. (FYI: If he were actually guilty of any wrongdoing he’d be awaiting a trial, not raking in more guaranteed money.) From gang activity to repeatedly cussing out his coach, nothing the man has been accused of has a source willing to back it. LeSean McCoy said he’d never seen or heard of the latter.
However it does have people looking left (fake leak), when the trick is on the right (millions freed up in cap space).
It’s been weeks of chasing smoke for anybody interested in the “Why?”, and that’s a shame, because the truth is and has been, right in front of them all along.
EAGLEMANIACAL.com 
I agree 100% and it does make Roseman look bad. He signed the contract and it’s not the first time Roseman has made some questionable decisions. The 2015 cap crunch is all on Roseman. Frankly the moves so far seem to be made in the fly. Prior to free agency Rosmean discussed how the receiver situation would be so difficult alluding to the fact Maclin or Cooper would be gone the. He resigned both of them. Then the team fell in love with the receiver in this draft. Someone had to go and it was Jackson and his money.
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I think if fans had heard that Jackson was leaving because Roseman can’t forecast a budget, fans would want Roseman gone too. Which then calls Lurie into question.
Now we have a situation where we’ve handed a loaded gun to an enemy, and none of the guys on our side really know why. Between that and the Evan Mathis thing, it makes you wonder how “bought in” players will actually be.
My guess is when push comes to shove, players will opt for being cut FROM the team over taking a pay cut FOR the team. Especially in light of how well it worked out for DJax.
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I can’t help but to wonder if McCoy is setting the grounds for that same type of departure.
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Why wouldn’t he? It worked out HUGE for Jackson even if the causal fan thinks (mistakenly) that the Eagles are the side that came out ahead in all this.
Jackson is still on the books for the remaining 6 million he was still due for the signing bonus he got with his new deal. There is no way the Eagles can get out of that obligation. So in a sense it’s guaranteed money.
Jackon is going to miss out on the 30-32 million that he would have gotten this year and over the following 2 from the Eagles, but not a dime of that was guaranteed. However the 24 million he’s getting from the ‘skins comes with 16 guaranteed, which means he’s gone from a guaranteed 6 million (Eagles) to a guaranteed 22 million (Eagles + ‘skins). There is no way that something like that has escaped the attention of athletes and agents.
So Jackson has made out like a bandit and the Eagles now have to spend a Draft pick to patch a hole. Meanwhile some fans are walking around applauding Chip for Howie’s mistake.
Comical.
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Yup. Chip needs to realize this isn’t college and you can’t fuck with a mans money/living. And you sure as hell can’t just turn around and replace them that easily. You don’t win in the nfl with scrubs like jeff maehl.
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And that’s the biggest problem that I think college coaches have with transitioning to the pro’s. Dealing with grown men with contracts who are sometimes known internationally, is different than dictating to what equates to an indentured servant.
Also when a guy leaves college under a cloud, it doesn’t affect whether other COLLEGE athletes will want to go to that college later. DJax leaving THIS WAY, will impact whether or not top NFL FA players want to come here. Consider that even players for the Eagles don’t know why this happened, and the perception is that the Eagles slandered DJax on the D.L.
If you’re a top-shelf FA, you don’t want to be somewhere that you could be cut for “no reason”, miss out on tens of millions, have to move, learn a new system (hopefully in time), and then have people look at you with a raised eyebrow. Anybody coming here NOW will hit us up for guaranteed money like whoa.
DJax’s case was different as he’s arguably the most explosive player in the game, but to another player with us being willing to simply give away a player like that, it makes us look either stupid, or unstable. Either way it doesn’t say ‘security for you and your family’.
Remember when FA ‘s came here to just to work with Andy? Seems like ancient history now.
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Part of the reason I said keep Andy fire Marty and tell chip if he wants to escape the college penalties it will have to be as an OC for the eagles to take him.
I miss banner and heckert. They knew how the nfl works.
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