Speaking the media at the NovaCare complex this morning, Michael Vick hinted that he wasn't sure whether DeSean Jackson would show up when the Eagles open camp in Lehigh tomorrow. Vick said "he has things he as to think about" referring to Jackson's contract situation.
DeSean is in the final year of his rookie deal and has been clear about his desire for a new contract. However, he's also understood that the Eagles hands were more or less tied with the old CBA rules. The so called "30 percent rule" made it very difficult to give a guy with a low base salary a big, new long term deal.
There's really no debate as to whether DeSean deserves a new contract and the Eagles want to give him one. The two sides obviously haven't been able to talk at all this summer, but now with a new CBA in place and plenty of cap space, the Eagles are well positioned to lock him up. The question is whether the two sides agree on his value.
It would seem incredibly unproductive for DeSean to hold out now, given the situation. Not only does the team have a very short time to prepare, but it's not as if the Eagles and have wrangled over a contract for the past year. They've only been allowed to speak for about 24 hours... So it will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow and certainly if DeSean does not show that will probably become the biggest storyline facing the team.
All that said, for all the reasons I said previously, I would think a deal would get done between the two sides at some point before this season. The Eagles should have other priorities this week however, as they have 40+ roster spots to fill in only three days.