LA Rams news: McVay pleads w DeSean Jackson to fill deep threat role

The LA Rams have agreed to terms with veteran wide receiver DeSean Jackson on a one-year deal (per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network). The news broke Saturday night via Twitter as Garafolo also reported that LA Rams Head Coach Sean McVay personally reached out to Jackson to sway him to the Rams. The two had connections from their time with the Washington Football team as McVay was Jackson’s offensive coordinator.

This signing is the Rams’ first new free-agent signing of the offseason, as the team has limited cap space.

5-foot-10 175-pound Jackson is a 13-year veteran and a former second-round pick (49th overall) from the 2008 NFL Draft of the Philadelphia Eagles out of California. Jackson got his reputation as being one of the fastest players in the entire league. In eight seasons with the Eagles, he tallied 379 receptions, 6,512 yards, and 35 touchdowns.

McVay knows how to unlock DJax

Jackson then signed a three-year deal with the Washington Football team where he recorded two 1,000 yard seasons in Sean McVay’s system. With Washington, Jackson was also very productive, converting 142 receptions into 2,702 yards and 14 touchdowns. In the past four seasons, Jackson has dealt with a plethora of injuries that have derailed his production.

In 2019 and 2020 combined, Jackson has played in just eight games, catching 23 passes for 395 yards and three touchdowns for the Eagles.  The Eagles paid Jackson over $8 million per year and clearly overpaid the veteran.

Jackson is now 34 years old and at the backend of his career. He has been struggling to remain on the field, however, he provides something that the Rams have been lacking since the team traded away Brandin Cooks in 2020, a downfield deep threat.

Hasn’t lost a step, yet

Even at his age, Jackson is just as fast as he was when he started his career. Jackson will Join fellow wideouts Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, and Van Jefferson and projects to be the team’s number four receiver on the depth chart.

Rams head coach McVay loves to go empty backfield and push the back of the defense, You can expect that Jackson will see plenty of time as officially newly acquired quarterback Matthew Stafford is given a speedy new toy to throw to.

This signing is perfect for the Rams as it provides a low-risk, high-reward type of situation. DeSean Jackson is very familiar with Sean McVay’s system and it won’t take long to get acquainted with the playbook. One thing Rams fans will see a lot of this season is big plays coming from DeSean Jackson, not only on offense but he could make a cameo appearance on special teams too!