DeSean Jackson trade rumors: Seattle reportedly inquired about possible trade

The Seahawks have called the Eagles to inquire about trade possibilities for DeSean Jackson, reports Jason La Canfora. Now, it's my personal belief that Seattle's pro player personnel philosophy is to explore every avenue and get involved in almost every trade/cut situation simply to do their due diligence, so this could be nothing more than a phone call to gauge the cost. In fact, it's probably just that. With rumors that San Francisco is also interested in Jackson, it behooves the Seahawks to try to drive up the price of a potential trade in order to make the cost of acquisition greater for their primary rival.

Regardless, Jackson's 'as good as gone' in Philadelphia with cap hits on his current deal over the next three years of $12.75M in 2014, $12M in 2015, and $10.5M in 2016. His cap number would be $10.75M in 2014 to any team that trades for him. The team that acquires Jackson and does not renegotiate his deal would absorb the cap hit in 2014 but then owe him zero guaranteed money in 2015/2016, so there's some advantage there. No dead money. No signing bonus. Just cash. The zero-guaranteed-money issue is why Jackson would perhaps be open to a renegotiation.

I'd guess though, based on all the reports I've seen, that the most likely scenario is that Jackson is traded to a team that can inherit his contract and accommodate his cap hit, or he'll be released outright. Jackson would likely prefer to hit the open market and negotiate a long term deal with a large amount of guaranteed money, but as Jason from OverTheCap.com says,

The issue for Jackson moving forward is that the receiver market took a major step back in 2014. Eric Decker, the most highly regarded receiver available, received just $7.5 million a year with $15 million guaranteed. Decker came off a 1200 yard season in Denver but faced knocks about not being a true number 1 receiver and that part of his production was based on the QB and system in Denver rather than his ability. I would think Jackson would face those same criticisms.

Would this mean that Seattle would explore the idea of acquiring an arguably elite receiver and punt returner to renegotiate his deal during a year when there's a discount at the position? Would they simply absorb his cap hit with essentially a one-year rental? I kind of doubt both, honestly, but this front office has a history of being aggressive, so it's worth at least pondering. If Jackson were to hit the open market with a release, he'd almost certainly not come to Seattle and their low-volume passing offense directly, so a trade-then-renegotiate seems like the most likely scenario for the Hawks, assuming Jackson has interest in them.

All this is a little weird though, after Seattle reportedly lowballed Golden Tate and allowed him to sign in Detroit. Assuming this reported interest is even partially true, it'd mean, I assume, that Seattle grades Jackson at a level much higher than Tate. He's excellent in the punt return game, stretches the field vertically, and is a game-changing talent coming off his best season as a pro where he caught 82 passes for 1,332 yards.

Regardless, as I've tried to make abundantly clear several times in this article, it seems very unlikely that Seattle has legitimate interest in a deal, but I can never ignore the fact that Pete Carroll and John Schneider are in charge of things and they can get a little wacky sometimes. Stating emphatically that something will not happen is almost a guarantee that it will.