The San Diego Chargers continue to put the screws to receiver Vincent Jackson.
The four-year veteran, who would have been an unrestricted free agent but for the disappearance of the salary cap, became a recipient of the highest possible restricted free agency tender. No one made a run at him during the RFA signing period, which isn’t surprising given that only one player signed an offer sheet this year as a restricted free agent. With no long-term deal reached between the two sides (blame it on the uncertainty coming from the lack of a new CBA, or collusion), Jackson opted not to sign his tender offer.
As of June 15, the Chargers had the right to reduce the offer dramatically -- and so they did.
Since then, periodic accounts have emerged regarding the possibility that other teams would be interested in trading for Jackson. But no progress has been made.
Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Chargers aren’t shopping Jackson, and they aren’t interested in trading him.
So what is G.M. A.J. Smith trying to prove? He has declared both Jackson and tackle Marcus McNeill as players who have been “lost,” but Smith still insists on squatting on their rights.
Does Smith not realize that, in the end, he’s dealing with human beings -- and that a locker-room full of them will be watching this situation closely?
Smith, who once instructed that a photo of him be replaced in the team’s media guide because it showed him smiling, has plenty of talent. Indeed, he has enough talent to overcome what looks to be a pretty serious personality defect, one that prompts him to treat his players like nameless, faceless pieces of property and to make no effort whatsoever to display basic interpersonal traits and emotions.
Maybe Smith has decided to keep his distance in order to avoid ever making dispassionate decisions based on anything other than the best football interests of the franchise. Maybe he’s trying to avoid being perceived as soft.
Or maybe he’s simply a big jerk.
Either way, his handling of Jackson makes no sense. The situation seems to be less about nudging the 2010 Chargers toward a championship (or at least winning a playoff game or two) and more about sending a message to Jackson and every other player regarding the power that NFL teams hold in the uncapped year.
And that could make it even harder for the 2010 Chargers to consistently sell those last couple of thousand tickets to their home games, unless the team plans to devote the money they won’t be paying Jackson to buying the unsold seats at 34 cents on the dollar.