The Philadelphia Eagles are activating DeSean Jackson from injured reserve in time for him to return for the team’s Week 16 game against the Dallas Cowboys. The news was first reported by Derrick Gunn and has since been confirmed by NFL Network as well.
Jackson’s eventual return was expected since the Eagles officially activated his 21-day practice window earlier this week. It just wasn’t perfectly clear that he’d be ready for Sunday’s game.
Jackson is returning from a non-displaced ankle fracture he suffered back in late October. It remains to be seen how effective the 34-year-old wide receiver will be upon returning. It also remains to be seen how long he can play without getting hurt again. Injuries have limited Jackson to playing just 10% of the Eagles’ offensive snaps since Howie Roseman traded for him in March 2019.
On one hand, it’ll be annoying to see Jackson potentially siphoning playing time from young guys like Jalen Reagor and Quez Watkins. On the other hand, it’ll be interesting to see if Jackson can provide a legitimate deep threat for Jalen Hurts. Interested to see how the rookie quarterback fares on some throws far down the field. Hurts did well in that regard back in training camp.
Maybe Jackson can give the Eagles an unexpected spark as they try to keep their hopes of winning the NFC East alive. Or maybe Jackson proves to be ineffective and injured once again.
We’ll see how it goes on Sunday in what could be Jackson’s penultimate game with the team that drafted him back in 2008. The Eagles can cut or trade Jackson this offseason to clear $5.1 million in cap space (or $9 million if designated as a post-June 1 cut).
