As it turns out, LA Rams found no bargain in WR DeSean Jackson

The LA Rams needed a veteran wide receiver who could stretch the field, play a rotational role, and come easy on the wallet.  Well, they may have gotten two out of three.  You see, the Rams must have truly wanted the services of WR DeSean Jackson. Heaven knows they’ve paid a significant chunk of change for a player who has played a part-time role in the NFL for the past two seasons.

When the Rams signed up DeSean Jackson, it felt like a good fit. A wide receiver in for 5-10 plays, stretch the defense and keep the offense moving the chains and putting up points. But the deal only felt good as long as the terms of this arrangement were unknown, and shrouded in secrecy. At $1 million/year, the Rams got a steal. At $2 million/year, the deal has potential for upside.

But at the $3 million per year mark and higher, the deal crosses over that hump of fair market value and feels a lot like an overpay. Cincinnati Bengal WR John Ross landed at a cost of $2.25 million.  He played in 11 games in his past two seasons, 489 offensive snaps, caught 30 of 63 passes for 523 yards and three touchdowns. But the Rams did not get John Ross.

Instead, the Rams got the veteran wide receiver DeSean Jackson, whose past two seasons included 23 catches of 36 targets for 395 yards and three touchdowns. He played 244 offensive snaps in the past two years. And for half as much work, he’s earning twice as much money.

DeSean Jackson has been living comfortably over the past two years. Thanks to $16 million of the Philadelphia Eagles’ money, he’s been enjoying a comfy lifestyle. A veteran with a solid NFL reputation can score a solid contract.

But after the past two years at Philly, the highest contract value I guessed would be a $3 million deal for one-year. He got $4.5 million, and that is just the starting point. His dealt could ramp up to $6.,25 million. Hey, I’m optimistic, and I believe that DeSean Jackson could be valuable to the Rams. But the money he is getting is a full season’s wages.

I’m not about to say that in no way DeSean Jackson is worth that much money. He could be in a normal year. But in a depressed market, with loads of available talent, the Rams chose to overpay a receiver who has not played a full 16 games in seven years. To place this into perspective, he never played a full 16 game season at Washington during the three years he played there and hasn’t since. That was for offensive coordinator Sean McVay.

The money that DeSean Jackson is committing to a pretty robust statistical season. At a minimum, I’d call it 10 games with 600 yards and five touchdown sort of season. Will DeSean Jackson give the Rams 10 games? I hope so. But the 600 yards and five touchdowns? That’s a problem.

Now the NFL is likely to roll out a 17 game season.

Free-agent signings for one-year should be about filling a roster hole. I’m not convinced that the receiver room had a $4.5 million hole, let alone a $6.25 million one. I can’t get the saying ‘a fool and his money are soon parted.’.  Now that we’ve seen how much the Rams are paying DJax to show up, I have to wonder. How foolish is this deal?