Vincent Jackson will report to Chargers next Friday

Posted by NBC Sports on October 21, 2010, 4:16 PM EDT

Unsigned Chargers restricted free agent receiver Vincent Jackson’s absence from the team will finally end next Friday, October 29. 

Agent Neil Schwartz tells PFT’s Mike Florio that the decision has been made for Jackson to show up to work in eight days.  Jackson needs to report then because he’s on the roster exempt list, meaning he can’t be on the active roster for three weeks after he signs his contract tender.

Jackson needs to be on the Week 11 roster in order to get credit for the 2010 season and avoid being a restricted free agent next season.  Jackson also served a three-game suspension to start the year for repeat
violations the league’s personal conduct policy in regards to his two
DUI convictions. 
(Confused yet?)

Chargers players will undoubtedly welcome Jackson back with open arms, but it remains to be seen if this news thaws out the icy relationship of Jackson’s representatives and Chargers G.M. A.J. Smith.

When Jackson’s teammate Marcus McNeill signed his tender,  a contract extension came soon thereafter.   That’s not expected to happen in Jackson’s case. 

Then again, a lot of folks didn’t think Jackson would sign at all with the Chargers this year.

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42 responses to “Vincent Jackson will report to Chargers next Friday”

  2. the chargers are on there way VJ is the man and Philip Rivers will pass for 4700 yards

  4. Unfortunatly he will get paid now, no matter what. What a A**hole. No team should take a chance on him next year, at least not for big money

  5. Why isn’t holding out the way to go about it? Revis got paid. Mcneil got paid(2 weeks after he came back). VJ was never going to get a long term deal w/the Chargers. Too many off the field issues. This has been his plan all along. Try to force the Chargers to trade him—or sign the tender and get his year of accrual in.

  7. “thaw out”? What? After covering Smith all these years, you have no sense of how he operates? McNeill was always in line to get a long-term deal with SD; Smith let it be known back in March. Jackson has never been in line; Smith let that be known in May.
    “Folks” didn’t think Jackson would sign because his agents believed the NFLPA would back them up in their claim Jackson would be a free agent in 2011 if he never signed his tender. It was reported (on this site!) that the NFLPA recently said they would not support this claim. This meant Jackson’s only route to free agency was to report. Thus, he’s reporting. Circumstances changed, and Jackson (unlike Smith) responded to changed circumstances. I’d love it if Smith would respond to the observable fact that Floyd is no Jackson; but he ain’t gonna. Not how he does things.

  8. He wasn’t under contract, so he wasn’t holding out. Thats a big difference between VJ and somebody like Revis.

  10. A lot of folks didn’t think he’d report??? A lot of idiots.
    He had to… He would just be stuck in the same situation as last year.

  11. J.A. has messed this team up even more than normal.
    Jackson’s suspension shouldn’t start until he signs the contract.

  12. butterk2,
    We call drafted rookies holdouts when they don’t sign or report for training camp. Why is an RFA different?

  15. Looks like AJ “won.” He’ll have the services of a legitimate #1 wide receiver for 6 weeks before losing him for nothing more than a 2012 3rd rounder. Way to cut off your nose to spite your face AJ.
    It all could have been avoided if Captain Hardhead hadn’t reduced the tenders back in June. VJ and MM would have reported in time for the start of the season (VJ still would have to serve the league 3-gamer).
    Keep it up Smith. You’ve made it enjoyable once again for the rest of the league’s fans to bask in the misery of Chargers.

  16. @butterk2.. So what do we call those rookies that don’t sign their contracts? It’s holding out

  17. Chargers!!!
    Grow some back bone and pull offer sheet back from this selfish “TO” want to be diva.
    What a team player he is!! Whatched his team lose and sat and watched – now that it’s about him and him alone he wants to sign and report – WOW Charger fans…Let him know what you think about his loyalty to his team — it also sounds like his character may be in question.
    Maybe the Chargers can give him a new contract and place a clause in it that says contract can be re-negotiated if production falters – isn’t this the opposite of players of today? One good year = New contract.

  18. stinkyfinger says: October 21, 2010 4:22 PM
    the chargers are on there way VJ is the man and Philip Rivers will pass for 4700 yards
    *********************************************************
    Do you know who Dan Fouts is, stinkyfinger?
    If so, what do Fouts & Rivers have in common?

  19. What a jack@ss. Why doesn’t he report RIGHT NOW?!?! His offense is banged up all over. If he showed up, he would be greatly appreciated by his team-mates and the fans. They need him NOW. But, he’s gonna wait another week.
    And the stupid Pats are gonna kick their rears because of it.
    No big paycheck for you idiot.
    And believe me, other teams are watching all of this unfold.

  20. So if he shows up on a Friday, does that week count against the 3 week suspension? Does his bye week count?

  22. I don’t get why people keep on saying he needs to report to avoid being a restricted FA next yr. There’s no chance that a new CBA is going to require 6 yr of service prior to being a FA.
    So even if he sat out the whole year, if there’s football he’ll be a FA

  23. butterk2 says:
    He technically wasn’t holding out. He just never signed the contract.
    _____________________________
    That’s one way to look at it. The cowardly, shitty way.

  24. chargers season will be over already before VJ can make any impact so in VJ’s eyes he really doesn’t care about coming back. He just wants off this team

  26. He is a tool. If he can show up next friday, he can show up today. The fact that he is waiting until the last possible minute shows that he does not care about helping his team. Too bad the Chargers can’t shut down operations for a few days starting next friday so he doesn’t get credit. He is an egotistical cry baby.

  27. Had Malcom Floyd not suffered the hamstring injury, I think the Chargers front office would be in the “who cares whether Jackson ever reports” camp.

  28. Until VJ shows up, play Crayton , Run Mathews
    None of this contract drama would be an issue if the bolts/Spanos Family had got rid of the real problem,
    GM AJ smith, He is a piece of work ,between him and coach “no run” Turner
    The chargers are Doomed in 2010

  30. The Lord of No Rings finally got his man, good for him at Week 11. I wonder if he gets fired for this mess in San Diego. You can only manage the talent that you are given.

  31. I’m in 1st place in a 12 team league. Think he’s worth that last spot on my bench now?

  32. I laugh at all the haters… VJ played by the rules, just like all these GM’s that low-balled every RFA this season because they could due to the CBA & VJ wasn’t having it. GOOD FOR HIM!!!

  34. Is VJ gonna help against punt block protection? This holdout was a joke. The man has 2 DUIs. 2! He should be lucky to get a tender for the veteran minimum at this point…
    At the same time, AJ smith is also a joke. Typical GM who lets his ego get in the way. Chargers are known to not pay their players well. It seems AJ would rather let his ego prevail then win a superbowl.
    No one will ever take the Chargers serious until they win the AFC championship. Until then, they are a waste of a playoff team.

  35. Of course he would have been a UFA in 2011. You think the NFLPA is planning on agreeing to a CBA that lets teams keep players’ rights LONGER than the last one? No way.
    Jackson is an idiot. He has nothing to gain by reporting. He’s almost certainly in line for an injury, given there’s no way he’s going to be in game-shape. He would have been the anti-trust poster boy if the NFLPA decertified, or a UFA if they reached an agreement. Regardless, when the dust all settled, some stupid-ass GM would have thrown $10 million a year at him, which is about $8 million more than he’s worth.
    Now he’s going to report, show the league his limitations, and join the “I coulda been a contenda” club.

  36. If the Chargers/Smith really wanted to screw Jackson, why wouldn’t they leave him inactive for 1 more week after he reports and becomes eligible to deprive him of the acrued year?

  37. I am 100% behind Jackson in this case. AJ Smith is just plain cheap. He never wants to pay for talent. Granted, the Chargers are still loaded at wide receiver (except this week without Floyd and all).

  39. Look at the contracts of Rivers, Gates and
    McNeill and then try to be taken seriously
    with the “cheap” nonsense.
    Jackson is much better than most of the
    league realizes, because he’s asked to
    make some of the hardest downfield catches
    and he routinely does. That’s why he’s always
    atop the yards per catch stats. If it weren’t for
    the stupid (never mind: CRIMINAL) driving
    habits, VJ’s exactly the kind of talent AJ
    rewards with big fat long term contracts.

  41. What’s the use he probably will not play to his full potential regardless of what he or anyone else says. He did not get the money he wanted. We will not see the play he is capable of. To many hard feelings he could have had 8+ million I guess that was not enough. If he is really worth more than that he needs to prove it, so Vincent show me what you got when you get back on the field, so far you haven’t proven what you are going to be paid when you do come back. I’ll bet you have an injury your first game back. If you do not like what I say them show me what you got. You and your hold-out crap is a big part of why the Chargers are doing so poorly, your attitude causes a negative effect on the rest of the team.

  42. I have no issue with a player holding out especially in a situation such as this where a bonehead like AJ Smith is offering a one year contract under market value. Like it or not, the NFL is a business and teams have loyalty to a player once his performance falls below his cap number. VJax’s agents played this right. AJ is a below average GM and an ego maniac. VJax will get paid next year.

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