DeSean Jackson was deactivated by the Eagles for last Sunday’s game — a loss to the Cardinals — because he missed a team meeting. During an interview with NFL Network’s Michael Irvin, he was asked if that was a typical penalty for missing a meeting. Jackson said no.
“Honestly, I’ve never seen coach Reid do anything like that. I’ve never seen him bench anybody for missing a meeting,” Jackson said.
Irvin followed up by asking Jackson if he’s seen guys miss a special teams meeting and still be allowed to play.
“I’ve seen some things happen before, of course,” Jackson replied.
You have to wonder what good the interview did for Jackson. I suppose the only benefit for him is that it gets across the message that he was singled out by coach Andy Reid. But will this increase his standing in the locker room? Probably not. It will probably just make Reid think that DeSean is going to run to the media to complain whenever something goes wrong. That’s not what a team leader does. And for the record, I’m pretty sure missing the meeting isn’t the only reason why Jackson was deactivated. Reid seems like a forgiving person, and not someone who would want to play a game without one of his best players. There’s likely a lot more to the story.
