DeSean Jackson said during a recent appearance on the I Am Athlete podcast he is not retired and sought an opportunity to return to the Eagles or play for the Packers (Twitter link). It appears the 14-year veteran open to teams outside of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The Ravens are planning to bring in Jackson for a Tuesday visit, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Jackson, 35, spent last season with the Rams and Raiders but has now played for five teams in his career.
Bouncing from Philadelphia to Washington to Tampa and back to Philly prior to his two-team 2021, Jackson (five 1,000-yard seasons) has been one of the great deep threats in NFL history. He was not especially consistent last season but came through in some big spots. Jackson helped the Rams beat the Bucs in Week 3, making three receptions for 120 yards and a touchdown, and produced his other 100-yard game on Thanksgiving — during a contest in which the then-Raiders wideout also drew attention in the form of pass interference penalties.
Jackson finished last season with 20 catches for 454 yards; the 22.7 per catch doubled as a career-high figure (albeit on lower-than-usual volume). The former Cal standout said this offseason he was pondering retirement, but there appears a clear path to a 15th season.
Baltimore has played the past two games without top wideout Rashod Bateman, whom John Harbaugh said has a sprained left foot. Bateman, per Harbaugh, is close to returning. The Ravens were connected to a receiver addition this offseason, after they traded Marquise Brown. But they resisted. Brown’s exit still leaves the door ajar for a true deep threat to sign on, so it will be interesting to see if Jackson ends up doing so.
Devin Duvernay has become Baltimore’s No. 2 wideout — in a still-Mark Andrews-fronted aerial attack — but not much in the way of proven targets are present outside of the Bateman-Duvernay duo. And Duvernay is more known for his return work early in his career. Bateman and Duvernay have totaled 243 and 240 receiving yards, respectively. No other Baltimore receiver has tallied more than 76 yards this season.