Vincent Jackson will end holdout, report to the Chargers
The long game of hardball is over between Vincent Jackson and the San Diego Chargers. The Pro-Bowl receiver will report to the team next week, his agent Neil Schwartz confirmed. Jackson has not reported
to the Chargers since refusing to sign his restricted free agent tender this offseason.
Jackson will report on 29 October after some advice from the NFL Players’ Association. In light of the uncertainty surrounding the league’s labour situation, Jackson must return to ensure that he earns
an accrued season. With six seasons under his belt, Jackson will ensure that he becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Jackson will earn just $200,000 this season after he turned down the initial $3.5 million offered to him in June. With all the time he’s missed, he’ll earn a reduced salary, but he will have the freedom
to go wherever he wants in 2011.
"With the landscape of labour uncertainty, we wanted to create, at this point in time, certainty," Schwartz said.
The Chargers placed Jackson on the roster-exempt list before the season, meaning Jackson must sit out three games after he reports. That means he will miss games against the Tennessee Titans, the Houston
Texans and a huge divisional game with the Denver Broncos. He’ll return just in time to play six games, the minimum in which to accrue a season.
San Diego General Manager A.J Smith has played hardball all off-season, as he also placed left tackle Marcus McNeill on the roster-exempt list. McNeill reported on 25 September and signed a five-year contract
extension worth $48 million. Smith did not trade Jackson before the trade deadline, rejecting several offers, but said he’s glad to know Jackson will be back.
"I believe he will do well," Smith said. "He always has been a worker, stays in shape, and knows our offence. After a little game-speed adjustment, I would expect him to be a major contributor.”
It has been questioned that perhaps the reason the Chargers wouldn’t give Jackson a long-term contract due to his off-field troubles. Jackson has been charged with a DUI twice, once in 2006 and last January
hours before the Chargers’ playoff loss to the New York Jets.
Perhaps because McNeill reported and got his payday, maybe the same will happen for Jackson. That is unlikely though, as things have gotten ugly, as time has gone by. The Chargers confused and upset Jackson
both by not giving him a long-term contract and not trading him before the deadline. Jackson will now be an unrestricted free agent this winter and perhaps reporting to the Chargers now is only his ticket out of San Diego.
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