DeSean Jackson's Regular Season is Over

DeSean Jackson’s return to the Eagles didn’t exactly go as planned after the team put the veteran receiver on injured reserve following Tuesday’s surgery to repair a core muscle injury.

The move ends Jackson’s regular season after appearing in just three games, catching nine passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns. It is easily the least productive season of his 12-year career.

There is still an outside chance that Jackson could return for the postseason should the Eagles qualify.

Hopes were high when the Eagles traded for the 32-year-old veteran in March, returning him to the team that drafted him in 2008. He spent six years in Philly before then-head coach Chip Kelly cut him following the 2013 season.

Those hopes soared even higher following a training camp when Jackson and quarterback Carson Wentz seemed to waste little time getting on the same page, connecting consistently for deep passes all summer long.

Then came the season opener and the off-the-charts expectations for a Super Bowl was fueled by two 50-plus touchdowns Jackson caught from Wentz in a win over the Washington Redskins. Those two deep scores vaulted Jackson into second-place in league history for most touchdowns of 50 yards or more with 31, trailing only Jerry Rice’s record of 36.

All those hopes and dreams came crashing down a week later when Jackson suffered an abdomen injury against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Eagles can only hope now that Jackson can return fully healthy next season and that his trademark burner’s speed will remain intact. He will be 33 on Dec. 1, so those two hopes are not guaranteed.

The three-year contract Jackson signed in March makes it difficult for the team to cut ties with him. He will count $8.9 million on the salary cap in 2020. If he is released before June 1, the team would have to carry $12.5 million in dead money while saving just over $3 million on the salary cap. If he is cut after June 1, 2020, the dead money comes down to $6.7 million and the cap hit is $2.2 million.

So the Eagles will cross their fingers that he's able to be the same old Jackson who is currently fourth on the franchise’s all-time receiving list with 6, 276 yards, just behind Mike Quick’s 6,664.

The Eagles' offense hasn’t been the same since Jackson went out, and now the team must figure out a way to march bravely onward with a receiving corps that has struggled.

Head coach Doug Pederson must now spend the Eagles’ bye week constructing an offense dependent on tight ends Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert and running backs Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders. Pederson must hope that Alshon Jeffery’s ankle injury, suffered last Sunday against Chicago, isn’t serious and that the team's top receiving threat can get back on track after having his worst game as an Eagle. 

The team will likely add another receiver, with Jordan Matthews a good bet to return for a third stint. Matthews was in town on Tuesday for a physical.

Also on Tuesday, the Eagles cut safety Andrew Sendejo.

The moves leave them with two open roster spots.