Jackson runs timing pattern back to L.A.
DeSean Jackson’s mental picture of catching passes from Matthew Stafford sounds like something he drew up in the dirt as a kid in South Los Angeles.
“I’m going to say, ‘I’m going to run far, you just throw it far,’” Jackson said, “and hopefully we can beat everybody.”
His laughter made clear he knows it won’t be that easy to jazz up the Rams’ offense, not even for talents like Jackson, the wide receiver they signed on Sunday after he was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles, and Stafford, the quarterback they got in a trade with the Detroit Lions.
But as his use of the word “excited” or “excitement” 10 times in a virtual press conference on Friday also made clear, Jackson is still in the rose-colored-glasses phase of the Long Beach Poly star’s move to the Rams and
a return to his L.A. roots.
A cynic might say the Rams are bringing Jackson back to L.A. too late, after age (he’s 34) and injuries have begun to catch up with one of the NFL’s great speedsters.
The way Jackson sees it, his homecoming couldn’t be happening at a better time.
On the field, he’s reuniting with coach Sean McVay, his offensive coordinator in some of Jackson’s best years in Washington, trying to provide the deep receiving threat the coach urgently wants for the Rams’ offense.
“I could have went to other teams, other places,” Jackson said. “But my focus was really reuniting with Sean McVay. Talking to McVay once I was a free agent and really just kind of having those open conversations, talking about the possibilities, it was something that was intriguing for me.”
The receiver with the highest average yards per catch (17.4) among active
NFL players is intrigued by the possibilities of playing with Stafford, who has ranked as high as second in the league in average yards per completion (13.4 in 2019).
“For me, I couldn’t ask for a better situation to have a quarterback (like this),” Jackson said.
The three-time Pro Bowler, who has never advanced beyond the NFC championship game (as an Eagles rookie) in 14 pro seasons, likes joining a team that’s going all-out to win next season’s Super Bowl on its home field at SoFi Stadium.
“I look at it like almost when LeBron (James) went back to Cleveland and won a championship for Cleveland, Ohio,” Jackson said. “At this point in my career, I’m about winning, man.”
Off the field, he’s convinced that age 34 is the “perfect time for me to come back to L.A.”
“I’m very focused on my kids, my family,” Jackson said. “I’m not at that young stage anymore where I’m worried about hanging out and going to clubs or partying. I’m just at a different space in my life.”
That includes a goal of giving back. Jackson and fellow Long Beach Poly alums Willie McGinest, Marcedes Lewis and Jayon Brown each donated $50,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach last holiday season.
“This is very personal for me,” said Jackson, whose one-year contract is reported to be worth $4.5 million, plus incentives. “I feel like we have such a big task to do, which is reaching back to these young kids and really giving them a vision (of success).”
Whether Jackson succeeds in adding a downfield dimension to the Rams receiving corps led by Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods depends on how healthy he is after abdominal and leg injuries held him to eight games in 2019 and 2020 with Philadelphia.
“I’m feeling that I’m 100% healthy,” Jackson said, acknowledging he’s still doing rehabilitation. “I just kind of can’t wait to get out there and get going with my teammates and just kind of build with what we want to do here in L.A.”