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The thing about cryptic Instagram posts in the offseason is no one knows what they mean. With no locker room access, there isn’t a concrete way to confirm or deny them.
So when DeSean Jackson posted a photo of himself slapping hands with Eagles teammate Alshon Jeffery, the internet sleuths went into overdrive. Especially since Jackson included the following message: “He too old, he can’t run fast anymore, he always injured, he a bad teammate, always been against the odds.” Many wondered if Jackson was referring to his own plight (in rehabbing from core muscle surgery) or if he was using the platform to defend Jeffery.
Both players have been criticized in the past year, although no one has taken a beating quite like Jeffery. The former Chicago Bears standout has been labeled a malcontent and locker-room cancer after his name surfaced as an “anonymous source.” There had been much speculation that Jeffery would be released with the post-June 1 designation. Worse yet, there was a recent report linking him to a potential draft-day trade. Neither has happened. Not yet.
Meanwhile, Jackson has been spreading the word loud and clear about his full recovery from a weird abdominal strain. The Eagles speedster played in only one full game in 2019 before undergoing core muscle surgery (maybe a sports hernia) in November. He isn’t expected to miss training camp.
“I’ll be back stronger than ever,” Jackson said, via NFL.com. “Being able to have like three months to train and build and do rehab, so I feel like now I’m back at 100 percent.”
Will Controversial WR Return to Eagles in 2020?
The “elephant in the room” — Eagles GM Howie Roseman’s words — this offseason has been Alshon Jeffery. The 30-year-old has been plagued by injuries in recent years, including a Lisfranc foot sprain that will likely sideline him for Week 1. The Eagles are in a tough spot in terms of trading him.
For starters, Jeffery’s restructured contract (an ill-advised move by Roseman) carries a 2020 cap hit of $15.4 million and grows to $18.5 million in 2021. Philadelphia would lose a lot of money by cutting him and no team seems willing to absorb nearly $22.7 million in base salary over the next two years. Roseman himself seemed confined to the fact that Jeffery would be back in 2020.
“The priority for Alshon is to get healthy. He needs to get healthy,” Roseman said in March. “I think that just talking to our PR staff and hearing the narrative of Alshon, Alshon is a good player. I think we lose sight of that a little bit.”
Yet the trade rumors continue to swirl around Jeffery. NBC Sports’ Peter King called out the receiver in his list of players likely to be dealt this week during the draft. Jeffery was mentioned alongside the Jaguars’ Yannick Ngakoue, the 25-year-old pass-rusher heavily linked to the Eagles.
Ngakoue has been mentioned in several trade scenarios while hyping up Philadelphia from his social media pulpit. He wants to play for a contender.
“I really want to be part of a team that has great culture and winning is a habit,” Ngakoue told ESPN. “I don’t want to be part of a team that losing is a norm or anything of that nature.”
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