Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson held out of training camp in a contract dispute last year. Now he has some advice for teammate LeSean McCoy, who would also like a new contract: Don’t hold out.
Jackson, who like McCoy is represented by agent Drew Rosenhaus, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that in hindsight, last year’s holdout didn’t do any good. And McCoy’s best bet, in Jackson’s view, is to report to camp on time.
“I think it would be in his best interest to come” Jackson said. “Looking back now it really hurt me more than I thought it helped me. Hopefully he saw everything I went through, and hopefully Drew won’t have him go through the same thing.”
Jackson said that the men in the Eagles’ front office aren’t the type to buckle to contract demands that they view as unreasonable, and he suggested the Eagles might even become more skeptical of a player’s commitment if that player holds out.
“Them feeling like me holding out was more of a statement and trying to prove something,” Jackson said. “I just hope he doesn’t take it there with the team because the Eagles are a team you don’t want to try force anything with them or strong-arm them, because you know Joe Banner, Howie Roseman, Coach [Andy] Reid, they’re not the easiest people to force to get things with.”
Roseman, the Eagles’ general manager, said on PFT Live last week that he hopes to get a deal done with McCoy.
“LeSean’s a great player,” Roseman said. "[H]e’s a heck of a player, we want him in Philadelphia for a long time, we haven’t been shy about that.”
The Eagles already value McCoy. In Jackson’s view, the best way for McCoy to maximize his value to the club is to be there at the start of training camp.