Los Angeles Rams waive former NFL All-Pro

Perhaps the end is in sight for 35-year-old wide receiver DeSean Jackson, as the former NFL All-Pro was waived by the Los Angeles Rams on Tuesday, the franchise announced.

Jackson, amidst his 14th season in the NFL, signed with the Rams in the offseason. Drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2008, Jackson spent eight years with the Eagles — a six-year stint at the beginning of his career, and a two-year stint from 2019-20 — before moving on to the Washington Football Team and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Jackson has appeared in seven games for the Rams, logging just eight catches for 221 yards and a touchdown. He has not eclipsed 15 receptions or 240 receiving yards on a season since 2018, when he logged 41 receptions for 774 receiving yards and four touchdowns with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Rams head coach Sean McVay confirmed that the organization agreed to let Jackson and his agents seek trade options for himself; however, the NFL trade deadline came and went, and the Rams were unable to find a new destination for the former star wide receiver.

“I just want to keep those things in house,” McVay said last Friday, when asked why Jackson wanted a trade from the Rams. “We’ve kind of talked about it, but I think really what it boils down to is opportunities that I think he’s deserving of and the situation and some of the circumstances that surround it.”

Jackson has posted seven 900-plus receiving yard seasons, breaking 1,000 yards five times. He’s built a reputation over the course of his NFL career as one of the league’s premier deep-ball threats, as evidenced by his 17.5 yards per reception over the course of his career. Even in 2021, a season in which Jackson was seldom utilized by the Rams, his eight receptions averaged 27.6 yards per catch. He was named a second-team All-Pro in 2009, his second NFL season, after posting 62 receptions for 1,156 receiving yards and nine touchdowns with the Eagles, where he also contributed as a kick and punt returner. Additionally, Jackson has been named to three Pro Bowl rosters in his career.

Jackson has 26 career touchdowns of 60-plus yards, none of which came with the Rams, an NFL record that beats Jerry Rice by three. He’s tied with Rice, Lance Alworth, Bob Hayes and Derrick Alexander for most career touchdowns of 80-plus yards with five.

Jackson, a product of Long Beach Polytechnic High School in California, opted to stay home for college, where he played for the Cal Golden Bears. His college career out west was far more productive than his one NFL season spent in the Golden State, as he was twice named a first team All-Pac-10 wideout and twice named a first team All-American. He was selected by the Eagles in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft, with the 49th overall pick.