The Baltimore Ravens have had a rollercoaster year when it comes to the wide receiver position over the course of the 2022 season. They’ve seen players such as Devin Duvernay step up, while Rashod Bateman is currently out for the year with a foot injury.
In order to fill out some of the holes in the room, Baltimore brought in veteran wideout DeSean Jackson to their practice squad. When asked about Jackson’s impact, Ravens wide receivers coach Tee Martin discussed how Jackson has been a veteran presence in the room, with the younger players listening to what he has to say due to his vast experience.
“It’s been great because he’s a veteran player. He’s going into year 15, and you look at the room before he came, [it was] a very young group. I was looking around, and Demarcus Robinson was the elder statesman in the room. With seven years, that’s good, but to know who DeSean Jackson is as a person, what he’s done in this league at a high level, a good who’s still playing at a high level. One of the first times he walked into the room, the rest of the guys respected him instantly because they know who DeSean Jackson is. So, that’s been great because when he says something, they listen because they know he’s speaking from experience; he’s not just talking. He’s competitive; he practices hard. He’s just a great example of how you get to play in this league for 15 years. So, it was good for guys like Rashod [Bateman] and James Proche and Devin Duvernay, guys who have skillsets but are fairly young in that room, to have a veteran like DeSean Jackson to show up and still compete and play at a high level.”