The Philadelphia Eagles officially placed the franchise tag on wide receiver DeSean Jackson on Thursday. He was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on March 13.
"We want DeSean to be an Eagle for the long haul and this is a step in the right direction to accomplish that," Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said in a statement. "DeSean is a talented player and a proven playmaker in this league and we look forward to him continuing his career in Philadelphia. It's our understanding that he has the same desire. We will continue our efforts on getting a long-term deal done with him."

Fantasy Analysis:

The Eagles may say they are trying to lock Jackson up long term, but he must first prove that he deserves such a deal with a consistently productive season while not being the headache that he was for much of this past season. And the door on a trade of Jackson hasn't shut either. As in 2011, Jackson will be one of the more prominent high-risk, high-reward WRs next fall.