If Jackson doesn't shape up, Reid could ship him out.


I take anything Jeff McLane reports on with a grain of salt. This is, after all, the same guy who said Donovan McNabb was definitely going to become a St. Louis Ram and seems to just make up his "unnamed sources."

But, with that said, his recent report makes sense.

McLane is reporting that DeSean Jackson's obsession with getting a new contract is what is behind his down year. According to McLane, Jackson spends an inordinate amount of time texting agent Drew Rosenhaus throughout the day and has allowed Rosenhaus to influence the way he approaches the game.

That has apparently led to Jackson voicing his displeasure about returning punts. We all knew it was going to happen. He now believes he's above that. He's saying it tires him out and even blew off an assistant when he told Jackson it was his turn to field punts before the Bears game on Sunday.

Head coach Andy Reid found out, and that was apparently the reason for his outburst at Jackson after the game.

Rosenhaus is reportedly telling Jackson that he must pad his stats if he wants to get a big contract once the season is up. That makes sense, but Jackson is going about it as poorly as anyone could.

Instead of working harder so that he can pad his stats, he's blowing off things like returning punts and wants to do nothing but go deep. He doesn't want to go over the middle and doesn't want to do what it will take to make the tough catches.

I understand protecting your body, but he's going too far. Short-arming that would-be touchdown against the Bears would have been the final straw for me. But apparently Reid is a bit more understanding and is giving the young receiver another chance.

Reid, however, has shown he'll only take so much. If he'll dump Terrell Owens in his prime, he'll dump Jackson without a second thought.

Especially since his little diva act is affecting his effectiveness on the field.

Jackson currently sits at 35 receptions for 678 yards and five touchdowns. If he stays at this pace, he'll finish with 51 receptions for 986 yards and seven touchdowns -- falling far short of his 2009 output of 62 receptions for 1,156 and nine touchdowns.

Those aren't All-Pro numbers. They're not even Pro Bowl numbers. So clearly his approach is not working. But instead of realizing that, he's allowing a leach like Rosenhaus to alter his thinking and influence the way he plays the game.

Without knowing Jackson personally, I get the feeling he's a kid who is being pulled in the wrong direction by a strong personality like Rosenhaus. His teammates seem to like him enough and want to help him, and Reid thinks enough of him to work with him, but he's got to be smarter about who he allows to influence him.

Reid has shown he'll be loyal until the bitter end if he thinks you're worthy of it, and he's shown he'll dump guys without a second thought.

Hopefully the scolding after the Bears game hit home for Jackson and has been something of a wake-up call, because if Jackson doesn't change his way of thinking and start acting like an adult, Reid is going to start seeing a mini T.O. and sour on Jackson very quickly.

And once Reid has made up his mind, there isn't a whole lot that can be done to change it.