Another wrinkle in the DeSean Jackson story has unfolded.
According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, Jackson, who has reportedly been on the trade block over the past week, is unwilling to restructure his contract in order to expedite a trade and may wind up being released by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Source: Eagles WR DeSean Jackson, scheduled to make $10.5M this yr, isn’t interested in restructuring his deal.Jets reportedly inquired #nyj
— Manish Mehta (@MMehtaNYDN) March 22, 2014
Jackson is set to make $10.5 million this coming season, but some of the teams that are interested in trading for the wide receiver cannot absorb that large of a cap hit.
The New York Jets are one team that was interested in acquiring Jackson and have enough cap space to inherit his current salary. The same cannot be said for other potential suitors.
On Friday, the Carolina Panthers and Oakland Raiders surfaced as teams interested in Jackson. The Eagles reportedly reached out to the Panthers, who lost their top four wide receivers in free agency, but the team has just $5 million remaining in salary cap space for the 2014 season.
Similarly, the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers checked in on Jackson’s availability at the beginning of the week, but neither team would be able to handle a $10.5 million salary hit this season.
Since Jackson is unwilling to re-do his deal in order to facilitate a trade, there is a chance Philadelphia elects to release him. According to the New York Daily News, the Eagles “don’t want him.” Cutting ties with Jackson would allow the team to save about $6.5 million against the 2014 cap and about $11 million in salary cap commitments over the next two seasons. Jackson is owed $9.75 million in 2015 and 2016.
If and when Jackson is released, the Jets, Panthers, Patriots, 49ers, Raiders, and reportedly the Seattle Seahawks — could sign him as an unrestricted free agent. The team would rather trade him, of course, and get some sort of value for the wide receiving coming off a career year.
