The Las Vegas Raiders didn’t wait long to fill a void at wide receiver, and DeSean Jackson didn’t have to linger as a free agent too long to find a new home. The veteran wide receiver himself texted NFL reporter Josina Anderson on Sunday afternoon to inform her that he’s found a new home with the Raiders.
Earlier this weekend, Jackson was connected to L.A. as a primary target in free agency given the team’s need for receiving help in the wake of the release of second-year deep threat Henry Ruggs III. The team cut Ruggs after learning of the news that he’d killed a young woman in a tragic car accident while driving under the influence at over 150 miles per hour earlier this week.
The news comes at a good time for Raiders fans given that the team just lost in Week 9 to the New York Giants, a clearly inferior opponent. Jackson will provide another speedy wide receiver for an offense that lacked a spark in a tough loss on Sunday, while Jackson has to hope he’ll receive more targets than he got with the L.A. Rams. Jackson asked for his release from Los Angeles in recent weeks after coming up with only eight catches through the first half of the season for the Rams.
The Raiders will face the Chiefs next week which means Jackson’s first action with Las Vegas will come against his former head coach Andy Reid in Week 10, assuming that the Raiders will want to bring Jackson up to speed as quickly as possible. Reid and Jackson spent several seasons together as part of the Philadelphia Eagles when Jackson first entered the league.