UPDATE: D-Jax

ex-Eagles' Wide Receiver DeSean Jackson

DeSean Jackson's rocky road in Philadelphia finally came to an end.  After spending his first 6 seasons in the NFL with the Eagles, the organization decided to part ways with their franchise receiver.  The release of Jackson did not come as a surprise to people monitoring his situation in Philly and there were valid reasons for the release.  First off Jackson did not "buy in" to head coach Chip Kelly's scheme.  Coach Kelly and his staff were anything but happy with Jackson, as the star receiver would routinely miss meetings and spar with the coaching staff.  Jackson was also due $10.5 million dollars this season and refused to restructure his contract after being asked by the Eagle's organization.

All of this aside, the most important reason for Jackson's release was his off-the-field concerns.  Jackson was rumored to be involved with gang-members, as well as having several gang-affiliated members in his friend circle.  The Eagle's decided that they did not want DeSean on the team anymore, but were in a tough situation.  If they decided to trade Jackson to another team and his off-the-field concerns came to a head with his new team, the Eagles would be responsible for trading him.  Because of this, the Eagle's decided to release Jackson instead of moving him to another squad in exchange for draft picks.  The fact that the Eagle's released DeSean shows that their concerns for Jackson span way beyond anything the public originally knew.  This article from NJ.com explains the Jackson situation in a new light.

The bottom line is, should the Jets take a chance on Jackson and sign him via free agency?  As stated in my last article, I gave many reasons as to why the team should sign Jackson.  Of course, none of his physically prowess and elite skills have declined since my earlier post arose.  But what has arose since then is the news of DeSean's possible involvement in gang activity.  If it were me calling the shots for the Jets, I would go ahead and take my chances by signing Jackson.  His impact on-the-field is way to great to pass up for the Jets.  Jackson would immediately make an impact, possibly turning the Jets dismal offense into one of the top-10 threats in the league.

John Idzik's opinion on Jackson however seems to be polar opposite of mine and the majority of the fan bases.  Idzik has moved extremely slow and deliberate to this point in free agency and don't expect him to be any different with DeSean.  Idzik is not sold on the idea of bringing Jackson and all his baggage into the organization.  To this point in the Jackson sweepstakes, the Jets have not even made a play on the the receiver.  Nine teams have contacted the embattled Jackson and two are said to be in "serious" negotiations at this point.  Of course anything can happen and we will see how things unfold, but to expect DeSean Jackson in green and white would be nothing short of wishful thinking at this point in time.