Chargers Will Not Franchise Vincent Jackson

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that the San Diego Chargers are “unlikely” to use their franchise tag on WR Vincent Jackson.

Jackson has said that he would be ok playing another year under the franchise tag  but the Chargers are unwilling to pay Jackson the $13 million salary that would come with the designation. Instead the team will try to work out a long-term extension with Jackson that will still allow them address other needs such as their offensive line and their pass rush.

“We will have some significant personnel changes,” said GM A.J. Smith.

I’ve been writing about the Chargers plans for Vincent Jackson for the better part of two years now and theirs still no resolution. If Jackson is allowed to test the free agent market he’ll surely find plenty of interest. The only problem is that there are a number of quality options at wide receiver which will likely translate into some good value options. We have Jackson listed as the #21 best available free agent in out Top 50 Free Agents list.