We now know where the Philadelphia Eagles draw the line.
You apparently can kill dogs or spew the worst kind of racial invective, and still be welcomed into the Birds' flock.
But have questionable work habits or hang out with some possibly unsavory characters off the field and you're gone. Especially when the team owes you $10 million and change this year.
I have said many times that I admire Michael Vick. He did the crime (financing a brutal dog-fighting operation) and he did the time. It cost him two years out of his prime and untold millions of dollars. But from the time he returned to the Eagles, Vick was a model citizen. He said and did everything right.
Last summer Riley Cooper was captured blurting out the N-word in what appeared to be a drunken tirade at a country music concert earlier in the summer. He left the team for a couple of weeks, was fined and did some community service. But he returned and had a great year.
There was no such olive branch offered to DeSean Jackson. Instead he was shown the door.
There are a lot of aspects to this ugly summer, but it still comes down to this: The Eagles decided to part ways with DeSean Jackson while bringing two other renegades back into their camp.
I'd like to know why.
Don't hold your breath waiting for the Eagles to tell you. On Friday, about a half-hour after a story hit the Internet saying they were concerned about Jackson's alleged ties to L.A. gang members, they released a two-sentence statement saying they had decided to part ways with their star wide receiver.
Eventually, this will have a big effect on the Eagles on the field. Jackson is coming off a career year, with 82 catches, 1,332 yards and 9 touchdowns. But for now, it says more about them off the field. It says a lot about money, what they value, and how Chip Kelly wants to run his team.
They simply decided DeSean Jackson was not worth the aggravation, certainly not $12 million worth.
It will not go unnoticed that they offered a new contract to Riley Cooper in the off-season.
Maybe the Eagles know more about DeSean Jackson than they are willing to let on. Maybe they know something that the rest of us don't.
At some point, I think they owe it to their fans to tell us what that is.
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