By Harvey Hoffman
For Eagles wide receiver, Sunday’s opener against the Washington Football Team will bring a sense of deja vu.
In last year’s opener at the Linc, he had eight catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns as the Eagles won 32-27.
And, of course, Washington was where D-Jax played after the idiotic Chip Kelly cut him in 2014.
A core muscle injury in 2019’s week 2 sidelined him for most of the rest of the season and led to surgery.
He’s back feeling healthy, and while coach Doug Pederson hopes Jackson is a positive mentor for his young receivers, the 33-year-old is ready to fly Week 1 against Washington, his team for three seasons earlier in his career.
”I know what I’m capable of doing, and I got a lot of juice left in me, so for everybody sitting at home, get your popcorn ready,” Jackson said, channeling Hall of Fame receiver Terrell Owens. ”I’m going to show it on Sunday.”
Jackson made headlines off the field this offseason for sharing anti-Semitic posts on social media and apologized Wednesday. Back in uniform, he’s ready to make the impact Philadelphia was hoping for when it brought Jackson back more than a year ago.
”The aftermath of everything has been a long process,” Jackson said Wednesday, speaking to reporters for the first time since the incident. ”I’ve been just using the time to educate myself and really just man up to the actions I took and just educate and learn from it.”
Jackson is by far the most senior member of the Eagles receiving corps, older than Alshon Jeffery (30), Greg Ward (25) J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (23) and rookie Jalen Reagor (21). With Jeffery and Reagor banged up, the opportunity could be there for Jackson to flash some vintage speed.
”He’s got a different type of speed,” said Washington cornerback Ronald Darby, who played the past three seasons with the Eagles. ”He knows how to disguise his running to make it seem like he’s going to sit down but keep winning. He’s good at doing that and getting behind defenders and getting that extra step. He’s in his 30s, so I couldn’t even tell you how he was in his mid-20s.”
Washington got that version of Jackson, who surpassed 1,000 yards receiving twice in three seasons with the team and only didn’t on year because of injury. Staying healthy is now his focus, and Jackson added stretching and yoga regimens to his preparation. He is sticking to a plan laid out by trainers and strength coaches.
”You’ve got to be able to take care of your body,” Jackson said. ”I think we’re all on one page, which is to keep me healthy and figure out how we can manage my plays and manage my rest so I can be playing in December and January.”
