Like Titans running back Chris Johnson, Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson has greatly outperformed his rookie contract.
Unlike Johnson, Jackson hasn’t taken a stand.
And though an unexpected absence from a week of Organized Team Activities prompted speculation that Jackson could be making his displeasure known, he missed the workouts for personal reasons -- and he has yet to say anything to suggest he isn’t happy.
On Monday, Jackson provided an update on the situation at his youth football camp in Mooestown, New Jersey. “There has been no progress so far,” Jackson said, per Tyler Dunne of the Philadelphia Daily News. “I’m looking forward to just working with them and hopefully making something happen.”
Jackson, a second-round pick in 2008, has two years left on his rookie deal. If the new free-agency rules move eligibility for unrestricted free agency to five years, he’ll then have a year as an unrestricted free agent. If the new rules preserve the franchise tag, the Eagles probably would use it on him in 2013.
He’s surely hoping that, long before 2013, the Eagles will sign him to a long-term deal. But with some already comparing him to the team’s last great wideout (and with Jackson not pleased by the perceived parallels to Terrell Owens), the third-year player seems to be intent on charting a course far different than the T.O. distraction and disruption tour of 2005.