Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht doesn’t appear interested in trading away wide receiver DeSean Jackson.
Per the NFL Network, Jackson asked for a trade from the Buccaneers that was reportedly denied by the team prior to their game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
“I’ll say this. DeSean Jackson and I have a great relationship,” Licht said on the Bucs radio network, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “He’s one of my favorite people on the team, and Dirk (Koetter, coach) has a great relationship with him and he’s obviously a terrific player for us.
“… I can say that my job and our job here is to field the best roster that we can to win games, and DeSean is a huge, huge part of that, not just (Sunday), but for the rest of the season. Other than that, I don’t have anything else to add.”
Jackson got off to a fast start this season with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, eclipsing the 100-yard mark in three of four contests. He had nine receptions for 275 yards and three touchdowns after the first two contests.
The 31-year-old Jackson has found it slow going with Jameis Winston under center, although he reachedd the end zone and had three catches for 68 yards in Tampa Bay’s 37-34 setback to Cincinnati. Winston returned after serving a three-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy
Jackson has 26 catches for 594 yards and four touchdowns on the year. He has one year left on his contract with a non-guaranteed $10 million salary.
A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Jackson spent six years in Philadelphia after the Eagles selected him in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played for the Washington Redskins for three seasons before signing a three-year, $33.5 million contract with Tampa Bay in 2017.
Jackson finished with 50 catches for 668 yards and three touchdowns for the Buccaneers last season.
The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Jackson has 574 receptions for 10,081 yards and 53 touchdowns in 147 career games with the Eagles, Redskins and Buccaneers.