Three Things That the Eagles Should Have Done This Offseason

January 26, 2014; Honolulu, HI, USA; Team Sanders receiver DeSean Jackson of the Philadelphia Eagles (10) is defended by Team Rice cornerback Brandon Flowers of the Kansas City Chiefs (24) in the fourth quarter during the 2014 Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium. Team Rice defeated Team Sanders 22-21. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Number 3: Do NOT Cut DeSean Jackson

Former Eagles, and current Washington Redskins wide receiver DeSean Jackson was all over the news this offseason. He was connected to gangs, it was reported that he yelled at his coaches, and then he was cut from his team after a career season. Soon after he signed with a division rival looking forward to getting his revenge on the Philadelphia Eagles twice each year. “Should the Eagles have gotten rid of DeSean Jackson?”, and “Should the Eagles have CUT DeSean Jackson?” are two very different questions. Because of this I will answer them individually. To answer if the Eagles should have gotten rid of DeSean Jackson is very hard. I personally wish they had kept him, only because if they had kept him, quarterback Nick Foles would get to throw to any one of Jackson, wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, wide receiver Riley Cooper, rookie wide receiver Jordan Matthews, rookie wide receiver Josh Huff, or running back Darren Sproles. Could you imagine planning to go against the Eagles and needing to account for all of these weapons? I don’t know if there is a defense that could stop Eagles with weapons like that, not to mention all pro running back LeSean McCoy in the backfield on top of that.

Obviously if the Eagles had kept Jackson, they may not have drafted Huff, or even Matthews, but in this scenario everything is the same except for the addition of Jackson. At the same time Chip Kelly claimed that his reason for cutting DeSean was strictly football related and that he felt that he did not fit the offense he was trying to implement. How that is, I don’t know, since Kelly’s offense is all about speed and there may not be a faster receiver in the NFL than DeSean Jackson. I am not in that locker room, I don’t know why the Eagles cut DeSean Jackson. Hopefully they had a good reason, so assuming that is the case I am okay with his departure. This leads me to the next question, should the Eagles have cut DeSean Jackson? No. Jackson is far to valuable to be cutting, if the Eagles had tried hard enough, I guarantee they could have gotten at the very least a third round pick for DeSean Jackson, which is much better than the big fat nothing they got by cutting him. The more important thing about cutting Jackson, is that had they decided to trade him they could have chosen the team he goes to. A team like the Oakland Raiders, or New York Jets, or even the Cleveland Browns who are losing pro bowl wide receiver Josh Gordon to a possible year long suspension, would have been a great trading partner, and it would be very rare for these teams to meet. Instead the Eagles cut Jackson, not only losing him, but giving him to a division rival which is the worst thing that could have happened.

If the Eagles made (or didn’t make) these three moves, they could be the favorites to win the Super Bowl this year.