When DeSean Jackson was still under contract to the Eagles, Jets owner Woody Johnson was the only decision-maker on another team who was willing to brave the possibility of a tampering violation to publicly express his interest in Jackson.
Now that Jackson has been released by the Eagles, the Jets look like they would make a lot of sense as a destination.
Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports that people in the Jets organization remain interested in Jackson, despite the report today that Jackson has alleged gang ties. Mehta doesn’t say who those people are, but a good bet would be that two of them are Jets offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and Jets wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal. Mornhinweg was the offensive coordinator of the Eagles for five of Jackson’s six seasons in Philadelphia, and the fact that Jackson already knows Mornhinweg’s offense is a big plus. Lal was an offensive assistant at Cal in 2005 and 2006, when Jackson played there.
New Jets quarterback Michael Vick has also said he would welcome Jackson to New York. A rapport with Vick, who has a good chance of beating out Geno Smith to become the starting quarterback, would serve Jackson well with the Jets.
And despite signing Eric Decker, the Jets still need help at wide receiver. After Decker, the Jets’ depth chart at wide receiver consists of Jeremy Kerley, Stephen Hill and Clyde Gates. Not exactly a bunch of big-play threats.
The Jets (and every team with any interest) will want to closely scrutinize Jackson to determine exactly why the Eagles got rid of him. And if the Jets don’t like what they learn, they won’t want to sign him. But on Sundays, there’s little doubt that Jackson would be a significant upgrade for the Jets.