The Los Angeles Rams added a new receiver into the mix this week with DeSean Jackson signing his one-year deal.
Here are five things to know about him:
1) Explosive playmaker
Rams head coach Sean McVay wants to create more explosive plays on offense this year, and he turns to one of the best receivers at doing just that to accomplish the goal.
Jackson has averaged 17.4 yards per reception for his NFL career, good for being the active leader in that category, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com. Free agent wide receiver Kenny Stills (15.6) is second, while Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (15.5) is third.
2) In rare company
Jackson's 10,656 career receiving yards ranks 38th all-time among wide receivers in NFL history and fourth among active receivers.
3) Community impact
Off the field, Jackson wrote and released two anti-bullying children's books called No Bullies in the Huddle.
More recently, in September 2019, Jackson stepped up with a $30,000 donation to the Cali Bears Youth Football and Cheerleaders to save its season. Founded in 2018 and based in Los Angeles, the Cali Bears Youth Football team serves more than 150 disadvantaged, inner-city youth in South Central Los Angeles.
4) Established big-play reputation well before college and the NFL
As a senior at Long Beach Polytechnic High School in 2004, the Los Angeles native hauled in 60 catches for 1,075 yards, also scoring 15 total touchdowns.
Of those scores, eight went for 60 or more yards, including a pair on punt returns.
5) Two years later, his wish comes true
Making an appearance on Bleacher Report's The Lefkoe Show in January 2019, Jackson expressed a desire to reunite with Rams head coach Sean McVay as he headed into unrestricted free agency (his three-year contract signed with the Bucs in 2017 was set to expire at the onset of the new league year).
Although Jackson wound up getting traded by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Philadelphia for a second stint with the Eagles – the team which originally drafted him back in 2008 – and signing a new three-year deal with the Eagles, he now gets his wish two years later.