Despite recent reports that Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson has concerns about running shallow crossing patterns and/or returning punts due to his small frame and his history of concussions and his lack of a new contract, Jackson publicly has been saying all the right things.
And for good reason.
A league source tells us that veteran players on the Eagles were put off by the perception that Jackson lacked the courage to get hit, and that they have contemplated taking matters into their own hands.
The specific quote from the source, who requested anonymity: “Vets were going to give 10 a code red if he didn’t quit being a candy ass.”
We asked whether that feeling has dissipated in light of Jackson’s recent comments or whether the potential for a “code red” was still in play, and the source said that it’s still in play.
Though most have never heard the term “code red” beyond the opening and closing credits of 1992’s A Few Good Men, the phrase loosely means in this context that the veterans had planned to confront him about the situation, perhaps physically.
And while there’s no place for that kind of stuff in most modern workplaces, the NFL locker room in many respects is stuck in a time warp.