Eagles release DeSean Jackson in wake of gang report

Earlier this morning, a report came out from nj.com that revealed some potential connections that Philadelphia Eagles WR DeSean Jackson may have with alleged gang members. In the report, Jackson is loosely tied to two separate crimes, seen in photos with the alleged suspects and questioned by police about the name of his record label.

Not too long after the report surfaced, the Eagles announced that they have released Jackson.

Clearly, none of us know all the details here of what's going on. The report specifically notes that Jackson was not near any of the crimes, and that police do not have any evidence linking him to said crimes. However, he is seen in photographs with the defendants, and even engaged in some eye-brow-raising acts during games.

From the report:

"You don't want to see anybody throwing up gang signs like he did in the Redskins game last year," Crosson said. "Those were neighborhood Crip gang signs and he flashed them during a game. He may not be affiliated with the gang, but they don't [ordinarily] take kindly to those not in the gang throwing up those gang signs."

Again, this doesn't necessarily prove that Jackson is a member of the gang, or that he has had any involvement in their activities. But it really makes one wonder if the Eagles had these concerns as part of their shopping him around in trade talks, or if these revelations were simply the proverbial final straw.

There will certainly be a faction of 49ers fans who wonder if the team should kick the tires on this matter, and explore adding Jackson to a short-term deal now that his value has surely plummeted.

That's a tough one. While this team has had -- and fought through -- it's fair share of adversity and distraction over the past year, I don't know that they'd want to touch this one. While one is innocent until proven guilty, bringing a potentially troubled player geographically closer to their troubles may not be the best way to help him.

And from the 49ers view, the Philadelphia Eagles VP of Player Personnel is Tom Gamble, who worked for Trent Baalke and the 49ers prior to this position. If the 49ers do have any interest at all in Jackson, you can be sure that Baalke will give Gamble a call to get hi

The Eagles may have wanted to move on from Jackson for other reasons. But we're talking about an in-his-prime 27-year-old playmaker coming off of his statistically best season as a pro. The Eagles don't seem to be in imminent cap trouble.

While this could just be a team playing it safe and moving on, there are serious concerns about this player -- incredibly talented or not. Unless some new information comes out that completely exonerates Jackson from this gang affiliation, I would be surprised if the Niners get involved.