Philadelphia Eagles Cut DE Jason Babin; WR DeSean Jackson out for the Season

In a shocking move by the Philadelphia Eagles, DE Jason Babin, in his second stint with the team, was cut today.  It’s almost ironic as less than 24 hours before the move, he tweeted the following on his twitter account: Looking back at this tweet from Babin yesterday afternoon, it makes sense.  And maybe the dawn is coming a lot sooner than we all expected.  In essence, the dawn takes the form of Vinny Curry, who in his first NFL start, led the Eagles’ defense with 5 tackles in last night’s loss to the Carolina Panthers.  Curry was drafted in the second round of the 2012 draft. The move itself shouldn’t come as a surprise as Babin is among a handful of defensive players that won’t be returning to the team next season.  It has been rumored that CB Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominic Rodgers-Cromartie, along with both safeties, Nate Allen and Kurt Coleman, won’t be returning next season.  The fall of the Eagles’ defense and inability to do anything positive has been exponential since the firing of Juan Castillo.  It’s almost as if Castillo knew what he had and was actually doing the best he could to hide the lack of talent he had on defense.   As time passes, we slowly begin to realize that Castillo wasn’t the problem. When asked why it didn’t work with Babin on ESPN’s NFL Live with Trey Wingo, Babin responded that it was a bunch of little things that added up to eventually a big thing and that thing was 7 consecutive losses – the most consecutive losses in franchise history, and certainly under the Andy Reid era. To further depress what remains of an already dismal season, Andy Reid reported in his day-after press conference that starting WR DeSean Jackson would be placed on injured reserve with fractured ribs, effectively ending Jackson’s season. “He’s got multiple fractures,” Reid said. Jackson finishes his fifth NFL season with 45 receptions for 700 yards and two touchdowns. His loss leaves the Eagles with four healthy receivers on the active roster. Jason Avant missed Monday night’s game with a hamstring injury, but Reid said Avant “has a chance to practice” on Wednesday. Jeremy Maclin, Riley Cooper, Damaris Johnson and recently acquired Greg Salas are the remaining wide receivers on the roster. The Eagles do have a pair of rookie receivers on the practice squad in sixth-round pick Marvin McNutt and B.J. Cunningham, who was signed in September. Jackson’s loss also means the Eagles likely will be without three of their marquee players in next Sunday night’s nationally televised game at Dallas. Both Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy are still recovering from concussions. Vick is in phase four but has not passed the ImPACT test and will take another one on Wednesday. McCoy, Reid said, remains in phase one. Quarterback Nick Foles and running back Bryce Brown likely will make their third and second straight starts, respectively. Foles this season is 55-for-99 passing with a touchdown and three interceptions. He completed 16 of 21 passes for only 119 yards against Carolina.