To Jackson, age is just a small issue
Having successfully used 12 years to disprove the theory that he was too small for the NFL, DeSean Jackson has come to face a new challenge.
This time, he is being declared too old.
If it’s not one thing … “The naysayers, the doubters, the non-believers, I’ve lived for them throughout my career,” the Eagles’ wide receiver said Wednesday, after practice from the NovaCare Complex. “I’ve always gone against the odds. So I am looking forward to this year.”
Jackson, 33, will line up Sunday in Washington, hoping to match what he has been able to do in a career in which he has caught 24 touchdown passes of 60 or more yards, an NFL record. The difference this time is that he is coming off a November surgery to correct a core-muscle issue that limited him to one full game last season.
With Alshon Jeffery out with a foot problem and rookie Jalen
Reagor having been used sparingly during training camp, Jackson’s full readiness is central to the Eagles’ offensive plans. The NFL preseason having been canceled amid a virus scare, the status of Jackson’s legendary burst remains mysterious.
He has practiced in training camp and is said to be at full speed.
“I’m feeling great,” Jackson said. “It’s been a long offseason for me. I had the surgery in November, but then there was November, December and January. And I was fighting my butt off to prepare myself to play if we were in the second round of the playoffs. I was planning to come back.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way.”
The 2019 season hardly worked as planned for Jackson after he’d caught 154 yards worth of passes in a 32-27 Week 1 triumph over visiting Washington, two for touchdowns. He was injured early in the next game, tried to make a comeback for a few plays in a Nov. 3 visit from the Bears, then reported shortly afterward to an operating room. Dismissing those two cameo appearances, Jackson will essentially be playing for the first time Sunday in a calendar year.
“That was the first year that I missed almost a full season,” Jackson said. “So I have had to refocus.”
He said he has committed to yoga, stretching and a responsible diet to regain his form as he reaches an advanced age for pro athletes. With that time, though, he believes he has added perspective, and has been known to have become a more dedicated clubhouse leader, particularly to Reagor.
“DeSean has done an outstanding job for us, not only as a player but now probably more so in this role,” Doug Pederson said. “I think he knows that where he is in his career and those that have kind of mentored him along the way, and now he’s kind of in that same role where he can mentor these young guys.”
Mentoring can be helpful to the Eagles.
Touchdowns will matter even more.
So Jackson, whose 5-10 frame likely kept him out of the first round of the 2008 draft, will have to continue to carry a certain burden of proof.
“When I’m healthy and with what I am capable of,” he said, “my track record speaks for itself.”
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Jackson was available for questioning Wednesday for the first time since he posted an Instagram story that included an anti-Semitic quote attributed to Adolph Hitler. He since has apologized and met with multiple leaders in Philadelphia’s Jewish community in an attempt to learn.
“I used the time to educate myself and to man up to the actions I took,” he said. “I wanted to educate myself and learn from it. I had to reflect on life. People make mistakes in life. It was just a mistake I made and I had to own into it as a man, which I did. I think I did the proper steps to educate myself and learn from it.”
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Pederson is looking forward to coaching against Washington coach Ron Rivera Sunday.
“My relationship with Ron goes all the way back to when I was a player for Andy Reid here back in 1999,” he said. “He was on Coach Reid’s staff back then, and that’s when I first got to know him. I always had a lot of respect for him and obviously his wife and the things that he’s done.”
Rivera coached under Reid from 1999 through 2003. He coached the Carolina Panthers from 2011 through 2019, guiding the Panthers to the Super Bowl in 2016.
Pederson has been concerned for Rivera, who has been undergoing cancer treatments.
“I know it’s got to be tough on him to be able to lead the team, but I know he’s going to do his best to continue to stay out in front, do what he needs to do to stay healthy and be back out on that sideline,” he said. “I expect to see him Sunday and hopefully I get a chance to visit with him if possible and continue to pray for him and hope he recovers and heals 100 percent.”
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After a long and unique offseason, the Eagles are ready for a football game.
“It really feels like Game Week,” Fletcher Cox said after practice. “You can feel the intensity around the building, among the coaches, from the players. You could feel it in practice today. Guys were flying around. Everybody was picking it up a notch.”