DeSean Jackson's return to Los Angeles is essentially over before we've even reached the midway point of the season.
The Rams and Jackson have mutually agreed to seek a trade partner, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport and NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported. Rams coach Sean McVay confirmed the news later Friday, adding Los Angeles will keep Jackson sidelined in order to preserve his availability to be traded.
"We are allowing him to be able to look into some options for himself," McVay explained. "Because of that we won't have him, he won't play this weekend.
"I think what it boils down to is opportunities that I think he's deserving of and the situation and some of the circumstances around it."
Jackson exploded for 120 yards and a touchdown on three receptions in Los Angeles' Week 3 win over the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he's largely been quiet (if not absent entirely) since then. Jackson has 221 receiving yards, but only eight catches on the year. He's seen just 15 targets through seven games, and he's played less than 40 percent of the Rams' offensive snaps in every game thus far.
Simply, Jackson isn't seeing the field enough to make a difference. As his 75-yard score in Week 3 showed, he's still good for a few big plays, but needs to be out there to make them. With NFL receiving leader Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and Van Jefferson also involved, Jackson has been mostly squeezed out, and he doesn't want to spend the twilight of his career on the sideline.
"He's a tremendous player that has a great track record and resume, and I think all the circumstances surrounding that, that want to be able to be open-minded, this hasn't exactly been probably what he envisioned," McVay said. "I think he deserves an opportunity to be able to see if there's better options out there for him and that's where we're at."
There are better options out there, no doubt. Green Bay immediately comes to mind after the Packers were forced to elevate a practice squad member to play in Thursday night's win over the Arizona Cardinals, and it's not the only destination. How that works out remains to be seen, but it seems Jackson's second homecoming in as many years -- his first being a return to Philadelphia before joining one of two teams located in his hometown of Los Angeles -- isn't going to play out as he might, as McVay said, envisioned.
We'll see where Jackson lands next.
