DeSean Jackson wasn’t shy about saying that his top priority last season was staying healthy ahead of becoming a free agent.
That didn’t endear him to many in Philadelphia and Jackson’s often indifferent play led to a year filled with problems before Jackson was finally benched in one game. The two sides were able to patch up their differences to the tune of five years and $47 million and that’s led to a change of attitude from Jackson when it comes to his effort level.
“I let it get to me, even though I tried not to let it,” Jackson said, via Lisa Salters of ESPN. “I was trying to protect myself from getting hurt -- now I’m just giving it all.”
That Jackson wasn’t giving everything he had last season doesn’t qualify as a shocking revelation. You only needed to watch him play for a couple of quarters to see an instance where Jackson was leaving something out. His honesty about it won’t do anything to change the impact it had on the team, but the Eagles and those that follow the team will likely make their peace with that if they get back something resembling the pre-2011 Jackson who helped them make the playoffs.