At the NFL trade deadline this week, the Rams took what looks like a winning gamble on a potential Hall of Fame player while cutting their losses on another.
How soon, how long and how well Von Miller plays for the Rams will determine how smart it was to acquire the outside linebacker from the Denver Broncos in a trade for 2022 second- and third-round draft picks on Monday.
But no further determination is needed about how signing DeSean Jackson last winter worked out. The Rams waived the wide receiver Tuesday after trying but failing to satisfy his request for a trade before the 1 p.m. PT deadline.
General Manager Les Snead passed up a punchier word for an unsuccessful roll of the dice in describing the Long Beach Poly product’s less than half-season with the Rams.
“Obviously it was an experiment that we attempted. Didn’t work out as well as we wanted it to, as DeSean wanted it to, as even Sean wanted it to,” Snead said, referring to Jackson’s and Rams coach Sean McVay’s previous coach-player relationship with the Washington Football Team.
“Didn’t work out for us, and that is why we wanted to move in this direction and try and come up with a win-win in this situation.”
Jackson, 34, played in seven games for the Rams after signing a one-year contract last winter, eager at the time to play near where he starred in high school at Long Beach Poly, work with McVay again and serve as a deep receiving threat on a Super Bowl contender.
But the three-time Pro Bowl selection grew dissatisfied with a shrinking role in the offense. Jackson caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford in a victory over Tampa Bay in Week 3. But the passes thrown his way declined to one in wins over the New York Giants and Detroit.
The team and Jackson agreed Friday to seek a new team for him, and he was inactive for the Rams’ victory over the Texans on Sunday.
Before the Rams announced the move, Jackson posted an upbeat message on Instagram indicating he was leaving.
“I am very grateful for the time that I spent playing for the LA Rams,” Jackson wrote. “Although this isn’t the outcome that we wanted, I am extremely appreciative for the opportunity & support given to me by the Rams Coaches & all of the Fans. I understand that everything happens for a reason & I look forward to beginning the next chapter of my NFL career. Thank you.”
Jackson caught eight passes for 221 yards and one touchdown for the Rams. His 27.6 yards per catch were the most in the league among players with two or more receptions this season. In his 14th season out of Cal, his career average of 17.5 yards per catch leads active players.
Other teams weren’t willing to trade for Jackson, but someone in need of a speedy receiver might be willing to pick him up and pay the balance of his one-year, $4.5 million ($2.75 million guaranteed) contract.
If not, the Rams are on the hook for his pay and his impact on their salary cap number.
Jackson’s release and rookie Tutu Atwell’s season-ending shoulder surgery left the Rams with a depth issue at wide receiver below Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and Van Jefferson.
Seventh-round draft pick Ben Skowronek made the first three catches of his NFL career late in a game the Rams once led 38-0 at Houston on Sunday. J.J. Koski and Landen Akers are on the practice squad.
On balance, it was a productive deadline week for the Rams because of the trade for Miller.
Miller, 32, missed the 2020 season with a left ankle injury and missed the Broncos’ game Sunday with an apparently unrelated injury to the same ankle.
But he passed a physical for his new team Tuesday and could play when the Rams (7-1) face the Tennessee Titans (6-2) on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium.
Snead called Miller a “genetically gifted,” Pro Football Hall of Fame-caliber pass rusher.
“They’re driving a car with nine gears instead of five,” Snead said of such players. “That’s just Mom, Dad, God blessed them with those gears. As they do get older, maybe they go from nine gears to seven, but they’ve still got two more than some of your younger players.
“A lot of times with these older players, all of a sudden they’re now combining that with this wisdom on how to get to the QB. So a lot of times at that rushing position, players play into their 30s.”
Miller’s six-year, $114 million contract is up after this season. The Broncos wanted to get something in exchange before then. Their willingness to pay most of what he’s still owed in 2021 allowed the Rams to fit him under the cap.
Snead said Tuesday the Rams would be “definitely willing” to discuss a contract with Miller beyond this season.
But that’s a dice roll for another day.