Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson failed to attend a special-teams meeting Saturday morning and, as punishment, will not be active for Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals, a team source confirmed.
One Eagles source told NFL Network's Albert Breer that there is a "big difference" in being late to a meeting and missing the meeting entirely, and Jackson's absence left team with "no choice" but to bench him.
Jackson has told teammates it wasn't a premeditated move, rather his alarm didn't go off, according to a team source.
The Philadelphia Daily News first reported Jackson's status for Sunday's game. The Eagles later announced that Jackson would be inactive, without giving a reason, and said Jason Avant would start.
History suggests this is normal protocol for the Eagles, according to the Daily News. Running back Correll Buckhalter similarly was late to a meeting a few years ago and also was declared inactive for the following game.
The growing rift between the Eagles and Jackson over the receiver's contract -- and his failed holdout this offseason -- has been a storyline around the team all season. Jackson, currently in the final year of his rookie deal, has 29 receptions for 503 yards with two touchdowns this season.
NFL Network's Michael Lombardi said on "NFL GameDay Morning" that the missed meeting shouldn't hurt Jackson's bid for a new contract.
"The contract talks have been going along pretty well so far, and I think DeSean Jackson has been happy with the direction," Lombardi said Sunday. "I think this truly is a situation where the alarm didn't go off, and he feels really badly about it because ultimately he's responsible to get to the practice on time, to get to the meetings on time.
"I don't think the two are really going to affect one another. The benching, this happened before with Correll Buckhalter -- Andy Reid benched him before a game -- so he's going to get benched this week. But I think the progress that they're making in terms of the contract is not going to be derailed because of this incident."
"They're playing the Arizona Cardinals, and I think ... certainly they don't need DeSean this week," Lombardi said, "But had they played the Giants, it might have been a different story."
Visit www.nfl.com/inactives to see inactive players in every Sunday game.
Follow Jason La Canfora on Twitter @Jason La Canfora.
