A full season after his holdout, star wideout Vincent Jackson still wants to stay in San Diego. Speaking after a Pro Bowl practice, Jackson said he hasn’t spoken to general manager AJ Smith yet.
“There hasn’t been any communication as far as contracts go,” Jackson said after Wednesday’s Pro Bowl practice. “If that’s their feeling, that’s great. I would like to stay in San Diego. Obviously, that’s my home, that’s where I was drafted. I’ve got some good guys around me -– Philip Rivers (Antonio) Gates, Ryan Mathews. It would be a great place for me to stay, so we’ll see if that works out. I’d love to have a long-term deal, just to have security of where (I’m) going to be for a while.”
Genral manager AJ Smith is said to be comfortable talking about a long-term deal and head coach Norv Turner is also embracing the possibility.
“The way he performed this year speaks to how valuable he is to our team,” Turner told the National Football Post. “From a coaching standpoint, I’d love to have him here. When you look at his production, his average per catch separates him from a lot of guys.”
With both Turner and Smith lucky to keep their jobs after a poor season by the Chargers, it is in their best interest to settle this quickly and it’s likely that once the team-exclusive free agency period opens that both sides will be rushing to the table. Having said that, Smith is as stubborn a GM as any in the NFL, so don’t be surprised if the deal doesn’t get done.
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