Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

Eagles

DeSean Jackson Excited to Return to Philly and “End it on a Good Note”

Kevin Kinkead

By Kevin Kinkead

Published:

via Eagles

DeSean Jackson was 15 minutes late to his re-introductory press conference.

Welcome back, DeSean!

But it was a good presser, more than 17 minutes long. Good questions, good answers, and some interesting nuggets here and there.

Notes and quotes:

  • Opening statement: blessing and a great opportunity, thankful to everyone in the Eagles front office for bringing him back.
  • On how this deal went down, Jackson says he woke up on Monday and got a phone call from his agent, looked up on the TV, and saw he was being traded back to the Eagles.

On how he’s maintained his speed after all these years:

“Honestly, I credit that to hard work and the people I keep around me. I’ve built a team of guys and men that dedicated their lives to me since I was a young kid, five individuals that when I was 12, 8 years old, I could just remember them calling me, saying ‘get up, instead of hanging out with your friends we’re gonna go to this park, we’re gonna train.’ I was able to keep that regimen, still to this day. People would always give me a hard time, like ‘you never lift weights’. I would lift enough, but instead of lifting weights I’m standing on the track field.”

More after the jump:

  • The biggest difference now vs. his first run with the Eagles? DeSean says he’s older and wiser, has a family and kids, more mature in 2019, more accountable.
  • There were “no hard feelings” when Chip Kelly moved on from him the first time.
  • The walk-off punt return against the Giants goes down as one of the best plays of his career. “That punt return is very special. I remember it like it was yesterday.”
  • It was “tough” moving on to the Redskins. “It was kind of personal, but at the end of the day you live and learn, I had a great five years and want to come back here and end it on a good note.” 
  • He has yet to talk to the coaching staff about his role. (Spoiler: it’s to stretch the field. Alshon is the WR1 and they are absolutely loaded in the passing game). “There’s not really much they need,” says DeSean.
  • He talked to Carson Wentz on Wednesday, says he can throw the deep ball, very smart, very agile.
  • On Doug Pederson: “Doug, that’s my guy. My first couple years here he was the QB coach. I’ve got a great relationship with him.” 
  • Philly fans are like no other and he missed being around them.
  • He always had a great relationship with Howie Roseman, always had interactions with him and Jeffrey Lurie when he would see those guys after being released by Chip Kelly.
  • DeSean was asked about the quarterback turnover he’s experienced in his career – “I know the upside Carson has, he has a great career ahead of him and he’s a young guy.”

On his maturation and taking care of his body:

DeSean also confirmed that he got his #10 back from Mack Hollins.

Here’s the full video:

Kevin Kinkead
Kevin Kinkead

Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com

Advertise With Us