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DeSean Jackson: ‘I’ll forever be an Eagle’

The wide receiver announces that he will sign a ceremonial contract on Friday to retire with the team that drafted him

By Philadelphia Eagles

November 29^th, 2023

Philadelphia, I'm coming home.

Every time I return to Lincoln Financial Field, it gives me chills. I was just out there a few weeks ago when they played the Miami Dolphins, and you can't get that feeling anywhere else. With that in mind, I'm stepping away from the game. I don't believe in retirement. It's a different type of retirement, as I turn 37 on Friday.

I was 21 years old when I was drafted. For me, it's just been about growth. I lived a great NFL career. I played some big-time games, made some big-time plays. I could remember being a young kid who was 21 years old from Los Angeles, California, making it all the way to Philadelphia. It was an honor to put on that Eagles jersey and go out and compete at a high level. I fulfilled every dream that I wanted to in the NFL. I accomplished things I couldn't even think I could accomplish, but I did it. I set the bar high and I never got content. I just pushed the pedal to the metal. For all of the kids at home, just set the bar high. If you set the bar high and you stay on your path and stay focused, nothing can stop you on your path.

DeSean Jackson: ‘I’ll forever be an Eagle’

When I first came in, we had Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, and Brian Dawkins. Those guys set the culture for the Eagles during that time period. Those guys showed you how it's supposed to be done. I look at the guys now like Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson as the heart of Philadelphia. I really sit back and admire that those guys were able to stay Eagles all those years. I had to go around in my career and play for other teams, but it made me really appreciate putting that Eagles jersey on and playing for the City of Philadelphia. There's just something different about putting on that Eagle green.

I don't think people realize when you play professional sports, you spend a lot of time with these guys and the camaraderie we built, the brotherhood we built, that's what Philly is about. It's about brotherhood. Being a Philadelphia Eagle wasn't easy, but it showed you how much it meant to go out there and put on that Eagle green. I just want to tell the fans that I love and appreciate them. I'll forever be an Eagle. I'm looking to build more memories.

It was always love with the fans. Even when I left and played at other places and came back and took my aggression out, it always came from a place of love. I appreciated all of the determination and all of the love that they had. If you're doing good or you're doing bad, that's what made it special because regardless of whether you were a great player, the minute you stepped below that standard that they know you are capable of, they were going to let you hear it.

That's what always gave us the edge because we knew once we didn't do what we were supposed to do, we were going to hear it, so that gives you extra motivation to go out in the field knowing that you will be held accountable not only by your coaches, the front office, but by your fans, too. It takes a special mentality to play in Philly. My dad was from Pittsburgh, so he instilled that blue-collar, East Coast, hard-working attitude. The example that was set was to work for everything you wanted. Know there's not going to be any handouts. Nothing in life is going to be easy.

DeSean Jackson: ‘I’ll forever be an Eagle’

DeSean Jackson: ‘I’ll forever be an Eagle’

DeSean Jackson: ‘I’ll forever be an Eagle’

Football was my escape in LA from the violence, the drug abuse, and just not really having any money growing up. Just to be a little kid and to be able to say, "This is my way out. This is my escape. This is a way for me to go and work hard and come back and give my community something they all can be proud of." That's what I pride myself on every time I walked on the field, every time I threw a jersey on. I just wanted to give kids hope. I wanted to give the people that didn't have all the odds in their favor, show them that this little kid from that same area did it, and you can do it, too. That was my purpose.

My dad passed away in 2009, but I definitely know he's 1,000 percent happy and I feel like he is with me every step of the way. His spirit lives on forever within me in everything I do. I'm a resemblance of him. I've got kids now and I see myself playing some of the same roles. I think it's important to instill that into your kids, just pump that no fear, that confidence into them and let them know that they can make it regardless of what the circumstances are. If you put the work into it, you hungry, you stay dedicated, and you listen to the people that have been there, I think anything's possible.

Coach Reid was like a father figure to me. He was very hard on me. Back then, he didn't talk a lot to rookies. You got to earn it with Big Red. We had some heart-to-heart conversations. Those conversations changed my mentality and a lot of my thinking. He prepared me to really understand what it was like to work hard and not just take my talents for granted. He definitely pushed me to another level. He was hard on me. He gave me tough love, the same way my dad did.

Big Red knows how to get to his players. He understands his players. It was never, “You didn't know what to expect from Andy Reid.” You never had to think twice about what he expected or what he wanted because he was very deliberate in telling everyone on the team, “This is what it is. This is what it's gonna be.” He left the results to us. You can't go out there and put in the work for your players. You lead them. You can tell them what to do, but it's up to us to figure it out.

DeSean Jackson: ‘I’ll forever be an Eagle’

That's why you have the older vets. I remember a game my rookie season, I was a young pup, and I fumbled. Brian Dawkins came up to me and, you know he don't even cuss, but he got on me so bad that I thought if I ever fumbled again that there would be trouble. That's what you want in the game. It doesn't always have to come from a coach. It can come from a leader that's somebody you respect. Andy Reid does a great job of having players on his team that can relay a message to other players and then it's the standard. That's why everywhere he went it was always the standard and everybody had to play to that standard. If you didn't meet that standard, you wouldn't be there.

Coach Culley was another guy who believed in me. He gave me a lot of confidence. He taught me a lot. Coach Reid and Coach Culley, they're going to really teach you because they come from a different mentality. They come from the old school. They sat me down and showed me what it looked like and it made it easier for me to go on the field and just repeat it because I already got the example.

I want to thank Jeffrey Lurie for making me feel like a part of the Eagles family. When I was first in Philly, it was my first time seeing things. Then you go to other places and you see other teams trying to implement the same things. What I would say about Jeffrey is that he's always around the players. He's always smiling. He's always coming to talk to you. It's always a family-oriented thing when you're a part of the Eagles. Howie Roseman's the man. We definitely got a great relationship. I'm happy for his success. I feel like we came up together.

When I was drafted, Donovan was the franchise quarterback. I was a young pup who was fortunate to play with a veteran quarterback. I just wished I would have played with him a little longer because we definitely did have some good chemistry and made some big plays. Michael Vick was one of my favorite players that I ever played with. Growing up, I looked up to Michael Vick, so that was a dream come true. I was able to play with one of my favorite quarterbacks ever and build a relationship with him. I remember me, Jeremy Maclin, Shady McCoy, we were amazed about playing with him. That was a blessing to me to play with somebody like Vick.

DeSean Jackson: ‘I’ll forever be an Eagle’

I think back to that Giants game in 2010. Vick pulled us in at halftime and said, "Man, I don't care what the hell happened in that first half, but when we come out here in the second half, we're going to put it all together." We don't like the Giants at all and we were in New York, so we just came together as a team and it was just like play after play. We just kept making play after play and then we look up and it's like literally 31-31.

I'm not thinking they're going to kick this ball to me. I'm like, the punter is going to kick it outside the stadium. When I saw that he actually kicked it in, I was almost shocked. I always tell people that I dropped it on purpose, but when I dropped it, everybody shifted a couple yards when I picked that ball up and I just shot that lane. I tip my cap off to Jason Avant. He decleated that snapper. Jason was like the dad of the room. He did everything the right way. He worked hard. He blocked. He was the example of what to do. We all had a great relationship. He was hard on us, but he was a hard-working man. He showed us how to get it done. He was one of the examples I learned from. He always stayed on me and just encouraged me. He challenged me. That's what you look for in guys on your team and guys to help you.

From there, it was like an eagle flew me into the end zone. I tell everybody all the time I was just like being guided into the end zone. Thinking about it now gives me chills. That one play right there almost kind of defined my whole career. I got so many people who can't stand me because of that play. That punt return always gets talked about. There's more memories, too. I remember the Monday night game we played in Washington and I scored the 88-yard touchdown on the first play of the game. There's just something about the NFC East. We played some heated battles.

I always prided myself on being an all-around player. Anytime I got the ball in my hands, I always wanted to spark the team up with energy and just kind of bring other guys along. I feel like once I got the ball in my hands and I got a big play, it feeds off energy to the rest of the team. That was what I thrived on – anything I could do to help my team win games, just put me in a position to do it. You know what I'm saying?

Philly will always be home. That's why I wanted to come back and retire as an Eagle. It just sits right with me. I feel like I should have never left. I always look back at my career and say, what would my career have been like if I stayed an Eagle all these years? What we had in Philly was great. It's a part of the history. Things happen. In business, things happen. We try not to harp on the bad times; all we do is talk about the great times. Just enjoy life. That's all you need to do.

I can't wait for Sunday. I'm sure the night before I'm going to be sleeping like a baby, just as if I'm playing in the game.

DeSean Jackson: ‘I’ll forever be an Eagle’

DeSean Jackson: ‘I’ll forever be an Eagle’

DeSean Jackson: ‘I’ll forever be an Eagle’

DeSean Jackson: ‘I’ll forever be an Eagle’

DeSean Jackson: ‘I’ll forever be an Eagle’

© 2026 Philadelphia Eagles

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