DeSean Jackson and the Washington Redskins Officially Going Steady

When the gifted but maligned DeSean Jackson was released by the Philadelphia Eagles last Friday, there were some who thought the air around him was so toxic that he wouldn't be touched by other teams until the most thorough of background checks could take place. Apparently, four days is all it takes to perform such an investigation.

What a weird episode this whole thing was, with Jackson essentially setting up camp in Washington the last three days or so. It was like he got kicked out of his wife's house and then shacked up with the closest girl he could find while he actively took calls from other girls who were also interested in his newly single status. (HogHunter's coining of the word, "Dinnerupters" was gold.) The whole thing was like an uncomfortably awkward Ryan Gosling movie. You kind of had a sense of where the whole thing was going, but the flirtation between the main character and...well...every single other person in the movie made you wonder if you really did know anything at all.

I had this vision of Bruce Allen, Dan Snyder and Joel Segal (DeSean's agent) all sitting in a back room somewhere smoking cigars on Sunday night, with Dan saying, "How long do you think we should wait to announce this thing?"

To which Bruce promptly responded, "As long as it takes for people to think we are seriously checking into DeSean and all these alleged affiliations."

You all know where I stood just two days ago on this one. Hey, I didn't like the idea--but don't think for one second I won't be rooting my ass off for this player in this offense on Sundays. It was never a situation where I hated the thought of signing DeSean so much that I was going to let it cloud my love of my favorite team. It was a move I wouldn't have done, but now that it has been made, we have a new Redskin to welcome and cheer.

The deal DeSean Jackson signed amounts to little more than a two-year, $16 million gamble by the Redskins. If you take away all the "other stuff" we have been talking about, this is kind of an insanely good deal for the Redskins.

But...that "other stuff" is still there, lurking. All of us can agree on what Jackson gives us on Sundays. All of us can agree that defensive coordinators are going to have to put their big boy pants on when they decide what to try and do against our offense. We should also be able to agree that the Washington organization better have a plan in place on how to ensure that Jackson is not only utilized properly on Sundays, but also matched with the best possible leadership in the locker room they can provide. The Ryan Clark signing is simply huge on this front. Depending on how things shake out between now and September, Santana Moss' presence could also be key in the mentoring of DeSean.

Finally, even though he went against my wishes, I would like to thank Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for his role in this signing...hahaha. After tweeting back and forth with Hogs Haven last night (dutifully manned by our own Mike Harar), Dale sent DeSean a message to get the deal done and within minutes DeSean was a Redskin. It really gave new meaning to me saying, "This thing just took a real left turn." Either way, how can I not be happy if Dale is happy?

DeSean Jackson and the Washington Redskins, after a three-day make-out session, finally agreed to not see other people. We will all witness firsthand how this plays out, and you won't hear me predicting gloom and doom. There is nobody that should be more motivated to prove himself now than DeSean Jackson. There are few teams that could use this kind of talent injection at wide receiver more than the Washington Redskins.

Relationships are funny things. Two parties in a bad relationship can bring out the worst in each other. Two parties in the right relationship can bring out the best in each other. One thing is certain: the reality television that we get to watch in the next five months is going to be AWESOME. (And that is before any actual games take place.)