We all thought it was nuts when the Eagles released DeSean Jackson six years ago.
Just imagine how DeSean felt.
Jackson went into detail on the end of his first stint with the Eagles on teammate Lane Johnson's Instagram Live show called "Outside the Lane."
The Eagles released Jackson on March 28, 2014, right after NJ.com reported that the team was concerned about Jackson’s ties to friends back in California who were allegedly gang members.
Although Chip Kelly wasn’t general manager yet, it was no secret Kelly didn’t like Jackson and was behind his release.
Jackson hadn't publicly gone into detail about those events, but he did in his conversation with Johnson.
NFL
Honestly, bro, the past is the past, but I will say when I was released by the Eagles it was definitely a shove in my face, you know?” he said. “The story that was made up and the reason behind it was hard for me to respect. I would have respected it a lot more, man, if they would have just came to me and just told me basically it’s a money issue or we’re going a different route. But no, you want to come up and say I’m a hoodlum and I’m doing all this crazy (stuff)? That (stuff) was personal to me.
Jackson was coming off his best season as a pro when the Eagles released him.
He had caught 82 passes for 1,332 yards and nine touchdowns in 2013 and at 27 years old was in his prime. In just six years, he was already fourth in franchise history in receiving yards, behind only Harold Carmichael, Pete Retzlaff and Mike Quick.
And just like that he was gone.
“We were like, ‘What the hell’s going on around here?” Johnson remembers saying.
Jackson was suddenly a free agent, and revenge was on his mind.
I remember the Redskins were one of the teams that hopped in and was really trying to sign me because of all the damage I did to them earlier in my career,” Jackson said. “(Owner) Dan Snyder personally sent me his private jet. I was in L.A. and he sent me his private jet, he was like, ‘Get on the plane and we’ll figure out the contract.’ RG3 actually came to my house in Calabasas and he was like, ‘Man, please bro, just come play with me.’ I just wanted to go play against y’all twice a year. I’m staying in the division because I want them to see me twice a year. … I was going to let them see what they were missing out on.
Jackson quickly signed with the Redskins and caught 20 passes for 440 yards in five games against the Eagles over the next three years.
After two years in Tampa he rejoined the Eagles last year and had two long touchdowns in the opener before missing all but a few snaps the rest of the season.
Nobody in history has ever had more 60-yard touchdowns for the Eagles (9) and nobody has ever had more 60-yard touchdowns against the Eagles (3).
Jackson opened up with Johnson on a lot of topics in their 34-minute interview. It’s a fun listen.
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