Nine Teams Reportedly Interested In WR DeSean Jackson

Update:

Ian Rapoport mentions that the Washington Redskins and the Buffalo Bills are two “wildcard teams” who have expressed interest in WR DeSean Jackson.

• Chris Russell of ESPN 980 mentions that after speaking to Redskins sources, their interest in Jackson is “more than any of us thought at first.“
• Tim Graham reports that the Bills interest in Jackson would be for a “predetermined price,” and they have no intention of getting into a bidding war for him.
• Rapoport also mentions that the Chiefs and Raiders as two teams with interest in Jackson.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter recently reported that “nine teams” have now inquired about Jackson.

The Patriots, 49ers, Buccaneers, Jets, Seahawks, and Panthers have also come up as potential options for Jackson.

Jackson, 27, totaled 82 receptions for 1,332 yards receiving and nine touchdowns for the Eagles last season. Pro Football Focus had him rated as the No. 7 receiver in the league last year.

We have him listed as the No. 1 player in our Best Available Free Agents list.

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Ian Rapoport reports that the free agent WR DeSean Jackson “put word out” to the Oakland Raiders before his release that he is interested in playing for them.

• However, Rapoport adds that the Raiders “won’t make a rash decision” and are in the process of “researching” Jackson.
• Rapoport mentions that the Chiefs and Jackson’s former HC Andy Reid as also involved.

Jackson reportedly has interest from seven NFL teams as of now, which is an impressive market for this point in free agency.

Oakland has been a popular idea given that Jackson attended the University of California, and the Raiders have plenty of cap space to offer him a very competitive contract.

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Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News confirms that six NFL teams did, in fact, reach out to free agent WR DeSean Jackson on Friday following his release.

• However, Mehta adds that the Jets were not among them.
• According to Pro Football Talk, Jackson was contract by seven teams, not six.

Previous reports have mentioned that the Jets were one of the teams to show interest in Jackson, but apparently this isn’t the case.

Buccaneers GM Jason Licht offered some “lukewarm” interest regarding the possibility of signing Jackson.

He’d have to be the right fit on and off the field,” Licht said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “I don’t want to dismiss him right away but we’re looking at a bunch of other players, too.” 

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According to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk, free agent WR DeSean Jackson could command a larger contract than he was due from the Eagles.

“It’s very possible that one team that views Jackson as the last piece of the puzzle will make a significant offer that covers more than one season — and that possibly pays Jackson (between bonus and salary) as much or more than he was due to earn in Philly for 2014” writes Florio, “If it’s a one-year deal, look for it to possibly be in the range of $6 million or $7 million.”

It’s entirely possible the Chiefs could create cap space by restructuring S Eric Berry‘s contract to sign Jackson.

In addition, the Raiders and Jets have enough cap space to sign Jackson since both teams are sitting at $14 million and $28 million respectively.

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Rand Getlin of Yahoo Sports reports that the Chiefs, Jets and Raiders are all “pursuing” free agent WR DeSean Jackson.

Getlin seems to be inferring that these three teams may already be active in trying to recruit Jackson to join their respective teams.

However, the Patriots, and 49ers are believed to be interested in the former Eagles receiver.

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Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports “it’s unclear”  if Jets owner Woody Johnson or general manager John Idzik are among those that are interested in WR DeSean Jackson.

Mehta mentions that the Jets just ousted WR Santonio Holmes who created many issues for the Jets during his time, so the idea of bring in Jackson and his possible gang related issues may temper their interest.

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Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer reports that, despite recent comments from Panthers HC Ron Rivera stating that the Panthers would be interested in signing WR DeSean Jackson, sources have informed him that Carolina “aren’t and won’t be interested.”

Panthers HC Ron Rivera tells Jim Corbett that they would be interested signing Jackson.

“We’d be interested. He’s an intriguing player and we’ll take a look at him,” Rivera said, via USA Today. ”I just got word and this is surprising to hear. He’s an explosive player who has great vertical speed and is strong going to the ball.”

The Panthers do have some cap issues that they are dealing with, so this is almost certainly the reason why they would pass on Jackson.

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Danny Parkins of 610 Sports Radio in Kansas City confirms that the Chiefs are among the teams to reach out to recently released WR DeSean Jackson.

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ESPN’s Adam Schefter is now reporting that up to six NFL teams have already called regarding WR DeSean Jackson.

• Schefter adds that the number of teams is expected to continue increasing.

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ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that “at least four teams” have already reached out to free agent WR DeSean Jackson’s agent, Joel Segal, in first 30 minutes following his release from Philadelphia.

• Schefter adds that talks are currently ongoing with interested teams.

• Ian Rapoport reports that the Seahawks would not have interest in Jackson if the recent reports of gang affiliation are accurate.
• Albert Breer mentions that geographic location could be factor for teams concerned about the report of Jackson’s gang connections.

The Chiefs have an obvious connection with Andy Reid spending a number of years working with him while in Philadelphia. Jackson could be a fit for the Raiders as well given that they could use an offensive play-marker and have plenty of cap space to work with.

The New York Jets have said that they will still consider adding another receiver, despite signing Eric Decker to a contract a few weeks ago.