RAVENS SIGN VETERAN WR DESEAN JACKSON
The Baltimore Ravens have signed 15-year veteran wide receiver DeSean Jackson to their practice squad, the team announced on Wednesday.
Jackson signed with Baltimore after a workout and a passed physical on Tuesday. Jackson played the 2nd half of last year with the Las Vegas Raiders after beginning the season with the Los Angeles Rams. The 35-year-old pointed out on the I AM ATHLETE podcast on Saturday that he wasn’t considering retirement and was ready to make a comeback. Jackson revealed on the show he was interested in playing for three teams: the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, and the Baltimore Ravens.
The Ravens had been looking at options in free agency to strengthen their wide receiving corps throughout the offseason and have been forced to make a decision with their no.1 wide receiver Rashod Bateman missing the last two games with a foot injury. The team has a shallow receiver room of healthy players that now only includes Devin Duvernay, James Proche, and Tylan Wallace. Baltimore has been desperate to add weapons for Lamar Jackson and also signed former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver, Andy Isabella, 10 days ago to their practice squad after waiving undrafted second-year receiver, Bailey Gaither.
The team is looking to build an explosive offense and the DeSean Jackson signing is an indication of just that. Jackson is expected to add speed over the top for the Ravens’ offense, especially with Bateman’s delayed return. The 2008 second-round pick is a deep-threat receiver and is expected to help the offense become a big play threat type of attack. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has completed just 21% of his passes that have traveled at least 20 yards in the air, the second-worst in the league.
DeSean Jackson currently holds the record for the most career touchdowns of 60+ yards in NFL history with 26 ahead of Jerry Rice (23), Devin Hester (20), Bobby Mitchell (20), and Lance Alworth (19). The Ravens also worked out former Jaguars receiver Tavon Austin on Monday before signing DeSean Jackson.
DeSean said in April that he was “not really sure” if he was going to play in 2022. He later confirmed that a return could happen with the right club. After 15 years in the league, the former Philadelphia Eagle is back and was on the field in Baltimore on Wednesday, wasting no time catching balls from his new quarterback. Jackson was photographed by Baltimore media practicing on Wednesday and stayed on the field with his new quarterback after practice to get some reps together.
“He looks like DeSean when he first got to the league,” Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson said of the veteran receiver. “Still floating around, running great routes. I’m excited. I feel like guys (DBs) might have to play him off because he’s still flying. Even though it’s year 15 for him it looks like year one. He’s going to bring a lot to the table for us. We’re just going to have to see if he gets out there (on Sunday).”
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh didn’t rule out the possibility of Jackson playing Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. “We’ll see where it goes,” Harbaugh said. “He’s on the practice squad. He did his job on the practice squad. He looks good. He looks like he’s in shape. We’ll just take it from there.”
Jackson, who has been a free agent since his deal with the Las Vegas Raiders came to an end in March, is the twelfth free agent expected to start that the Ravens have added to the team this year. The team brought back veteran linebacker Justin Houston, signed Marcus Williams, Morgan Moses, Michael Pierce, Mike Davis, re-signed Josh Bynes and Calais Campbell, Brent Urban, signed Demarcus Robinson, Andy Isabella, Jason Pierre Paul, and Kenyan Drake.
“As the season goes along, I’m like, ‘I’ve still got more to put out there,’” the former Cal wide receiver said on Wednesday. “I was just excited about the opportunity to be able to come here and be an addition to this great team. I think the film speaks for itself, what I’ve been able to do over my career.”
“I think the biggest thing is being a spark, implementing a deep threat. (Going) vertical down the field, big explosive plays, honestly whatever it is they ask me. Whatever my number is called on, whenever my number is called, I’ll just do everything I can to get ready and once it’s time, get ready to go out there and show up and show off.”
Jackson said he had been keeping his eyes on Lamar Jackson for a while and saw similarities in his game as former Falcons quarterback Michael Vick. “He is the new era of Michael Vick,” Jackson said. DeSean played alongside Michael Vick with the Philadelphia Eagles between 2009 and 2013, earning Pro Bowl selections in three of the four years he played with Vick.
While he’s an experienced and talented addition to the Ravens’ wide receiver group, most fans remain skeptical of DeSean Jackson’s ability to be productive on this Baltimore offense at 35 years of age. Jackson recorded only 20 receptions for 454 yards with both the Los Angeles Rams and Las Vegas Raiders last year, adding a couple of touchdowns. The veteran wide receiver, however, had the best yard-per-catch average last year of his 14-year career, averaging 22.7 yards per reception.
Jackson is expected to be elevated off the practice squad and added to the team’s 53-man roster soon. His new team, the Baltimore Ravens host the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday, October 23 at 1 pm ET.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.