For the record, recent slide frustrates Jackson
TAMPA — Buccaneers receiver DeSean Jackson, speaking during an open locker-room media session for the first time Wednesday since reports late last month that he asked to be dealt before the trade deadline, didn’t rebuff the notion.
“Whatever the conversations were, they were between us,” Jackson said when asked if he spoke to general manager Jason Licht to request a trade. “It’s over and done with now, and I’m looking forward. We’ve got eight games left to continue to try our best to get in the playoffs and win here.”
Jackson opened the season with three 100-yard receiving games in the Bucs’ first four games, all of them with Ryan Fitzpatrick as the team’s starting quarterback. But since then, he’s averaged just 50 receiving yards over the past four games, three of them Tampa Bay losses.
Jackson — one of Fitzpatrick’s favorite early-season targets —
didn’t see a pass in his direction in Sunday’s defeat at Carolina until after the two-minute warning in the second quarter. By then Tampa Bay was losing by 28 points.
The Bucs say they’re not phasing Jackson out of the offense, but he played less than half of the snaps for the second time in three games.
Now the Bucs are 3-5 as the season heads into its second half Sunday against Washington. The team’s recent slide — five losses in six games — correlates with Jackson’s diminished success.
Jackson said he’s not frustrated with a lesser role, but he is frustrated that the Bucs haven’t met their own expectations.
“I don’t see it as frustration. It’s just knowing what’s in this locker room, knowing the players we have all across the board, and knowing how talented it can be,” Jackson said. “It did show early on. That’s the frustration. So not being able to have the results the past three or four games, whatever the number is, that’s been more of the frustration for me.
“It’s not individual, it’s more accomplishing what we all want to accomplish,” he added. “It’s winning football games and being in the games and not shooting ourselves in the foot and getting behind. I think we’re all putting it on ourselves and we’re not playing complementary football.
“We need to play complementary football — offense, defense and special teams. That’s what drives my frustrations because I know what we’re capable of doing. I know the players we have in this locker room, so it’s really about getting the opportunities and making the most out of them.”
Tampa Bay has had to come back from early deficits in five of its past six games and its minus-15 turnover margin is the worst in the NFL. Tampa Bay’s defense has allowed 34.4 points a game, which is also last in the league.
“This business is drawn off wins and losses,” Jackson said. “The more we win, the longer we’ll be here. The less we win, the faster we’ll be out. We’ve got to figure that out. If it’s important for people to be in this locker room and continue to have a job in the NFL, you’ve got to win. That’s what this league is based off of. As long as we can win, we’ll all be here.”
As for the Bucs’ quarterback situation, there won’t be any suspense this week. Coach Dirk Koetter already has named Fitzpatrick as the starter for the home game against Washington after the loss at Carolina.
“Ryan’s our starter next week,” the coach said. “Ryan had one [bad play] there in the first half — an overthrow on that one interception that we’d like to have back — but did a good job of leading us back.”
Still, it was another game, another rally, another letdown. In his career, Fitzpatrick has thrown 52 touchdown passes when leading, 32 when tied and 106 when trailing. Former starter Jameis Winston has similar splits. He has thrown 16 touchdown passes when trailing, 10 when tied and 49 when trailing.