Here’s something for everyone who’s called him “immature”.
Here’s a question that’s worth asking after months of hearing over and over again from a few fans that DeSean Jackson put himself before his team. If Philly lands a couple of young wideouts in April’s draft, is “10” the guy that needs to take on the role of elder statesmen and play the big brother role to all of these young receivers?
That was the concern, right? We had heard DeSean Jackson had grown up but he didn’t. As mentioned, that’s probably taking things much too far. He had an injury and tried to play with it, but if you’ve ever harbored the negative opinions, ask yourselves if statements like this come from an immature man who’s selfish.
"Just knowing where times are and where we’re at in time (has shown me) there’s a lot of uncertainty. There’s a lot of unknown. Throughout all of that, you’ve just got to keep your faith and know that the Man Above has a plan for us all. It’s unfortunate that people are losing their lives, but you just have to stay prayed up and just know that everyone on Earth has a time and we never know when our time is so you just have to put your best foot forward and go out there and just keeping working hard. One thing I can say is I’m always going to have my hard hat on. I’m coming to work, I’m going to work hard, and I’m always going to give my best efforts. We’ve got a lot of light left, and I’m ready to shine."
So much for all of those comments about him still being immature. Jackson putting that surgery off wasn’t an act of selfishness. Actually, it was the opposite. Rather than put himself first, he put his physical needs on the back burner to try and battle his way onto the field with the idea that surgery could be done after the regular season.
Is that dishonorable? Don’t fans praise Alshon Jeffery for doing the same thing during Philly’s Super Bowl run? Hindsight is always seen in 20-20 vision, and no, in this situation, Jackson’s plan didn’t work. Still, a football player’s mental makeup requires that he sometimes plays through pain.
“10” tried that. It didn’t work. Now, he’s had the surgery, and he’s back. Everyone needs to move on because one thing is certain. When he blows by another secondary and catches another long bomb from Carson Wentz, no one will say he’s selfish then.