Monday DeSean Jackson Update

Feb 21, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Kansas City Chiefs general manager John Dorsey speaks to the media in a press conference during the 2014 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

For those of you who could not keep up with the DeSean Jackson news this weekend, here’s where we are and where we are probably going.

First, you are all probably aware the Eagles released Jackson on Friday afternoon, shortly after a report about a potential connection between Jackson and a Los Angeles-based gang. Concern over how intense his relationship was with those gang members were quickly toned down after the Chiefs quickly threw their hat into the ring.

There was actually a point where the Chiefs were considered one of the leading contenders for Jackson.

Things seemed to be moving on as usual until Saturday night when the Chiefs leaked to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport they were out on Jackson. It should be noted no one else is independently reporting the Chiefs are out on Jackson, though the general consensus seems to be Rapoport’s report is accurate. Adam Teicher has already written a post about how it is good the Chiefs passed on Jackson.

We now think the reason why the Chiefs backed out is because of Jackson’s financial demands. Several tweets from reporters suggest Jackson’s asking price is not in tune with the market. Jackson has a visit scheduled with Washington today, so if he leaves without signing then maybe some things changed. Washington is known for massive contract offers so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Jackson ended up in Washington.

To get an idea of what the money is looking like for Jackson, here’s Spotrac’s prediction:

This is almost the same contract he signed with Philadelphia in 2012. For perspective on the market, Eric Decker received a five-year, $36.25 million deal with $15 million guaranteed. One would think Jackson is probably going into Washington looking for Dwayne Bowe or Mike Wallace money. Given the depth of this year’s draft and the way free agency played out for wide receivers, it is going to be hard for Jackson to get that kind of money. But if there is a team that would overpay like that for him it would be Washington.

We’ll see how things play out, but for now the Chiefs should stay away from the kind of contract it appears Jackson could be asking for at the moment.

UPDATE:

UPDATE 2: