The Chargers still have the rights to wide receiver Vincent Jackson, which dramatically increases his chances of remaining under the team's control and, thus, the chances he sits out this season.
The NFL trade deadline is not until October 19, but a deal getting done by Saturday would have been best for everyone involved. Now, Jackson won’t be eligible to play until the season’s seventh game, most likely drastically decreasing his value -- for himself and for the Chargers.
At 3 p.m. pacific time, when NFL rosters were finalized, Jackson officially began serving his three-game suspension that resulted from his two DUI arrests.
Additionally, since the Chargers placed him on the Roster Exempt List last month, Jackson is precluded from playing in three games after he signs and reports to any team. He cannot report to a team during his suspension.
Jackson, who has not signed his one-year tender offer due to dissatisfaction over his contract status, has said he is prepared to sit out the entire season.
It is unclear how close the Chargers came to trading him or whether it even got to the point they talked to another team about terms of a trade. Until recently, numerous sources said the price remained too high for Jackson. But all got quiet on that front in the past two days.
The St. Louis Rams were interested at some level. But Saturday afternoon a Rams spokesman confirmed the team was not going to acquire Jackson.
The Chargers bolstered their receiving corps on Friday when they traded a conditional seventh-round pick to Dallas for Patrick Crayton.
Reports surfaced in the past 24 hours that the Chargers had inquired about trading for Seattle receiver T.J. Houshmanzadeh, who was eventually released by the Seahawks. A Chargers source emphatically denied that was true.
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