Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that the Chargers have suddenly become willing to trade Vincent Jackson by Saturday, which is a key date for all parties concerned…
Both the Chargers and, presumably, Jackson’s agents would like to have a deal done by 3 p.m. Saturday. After that, Jackson will essentially be suspended for six games. Jackson is suspended the first three games of the season due to his two DUI arrests and cannot report to a team during that suspension. He is also on the Roster Exempt List, which means he has to sit out three games after reporting.
In other words, if the Chargers trade him by Saturday, Jackson will only serve a three-game suspension since he can serve both suspensions concurrently. If they trade him after Sep. 4, he’ll have to serve a six-game suspension.
One wonders why the Chargers waited so long to get the ball rolling on a trade. They have reportedly only let the Seahawks speak to Jackson’s camp about a deal. His trade value will drop after Saturday, so why not trade him before then and get maximum value?
For fantasy owners, this is a fluid situation. Jackson has been going in the 8th, but he’s still around in the later rounds in some drafts. If the Chargers truly have changed their stance, a deal might get done quickly, because it sounds like Jackson’s camp has also lowered its asking price in terms of financial compensation.
He’s a better player than Santonio Holmes, who will miss the first four games due to suspension, but Holmes has had all of training camp to get used to the Jets’ offense and to develop a rapport with Mark Sanchez. At this point, if Jackson joins a new team, he’ll essentially be starting from square one. If he lands with a team like the Vikings, I like his chances of producing once his suspension is up due to the presence of Brett Favre, who will throw the ball up and let Jackson make a play.
Jackson is worth a flier, assuming your team is relatively strong in all areas. If you’re hurting in one area or another, don’t expect Jackson to save you.
