Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Desean Jackson wants to be traded

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers maintained the status quo this offseason, hoping the roster they’d built would turn the corner towards contention.

Things started well. The offense was scoring tons of points while helping to win the first two games. If the defense could come around they’d be in a position to seize control of the NFC South. The waiting continued and hasn’t stopped. Things got so bad on that side of the ball that defensive coordinator Mike Smith was finally fired in an effort to stop the bleeding.

Suddenly a team with playoff aspirations is 3-3 with their only win in the past month coming against the Browns in overtime. New Orleans and Carolina are leaving them in the dust and they’ve already lost the first game to Atlanta as well. They have to start winning a lot of games fast, and it appears some on the roster don’t have the confidence that will happen.

Among them is wide receiver Desean Jackson. The veteran has behaved himself for the most part since landing in Tampa Bay last year, but the losing seems to be getting to him. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network revealed that Jackson has requested a trade prior to the October 30th deadline. A move that the Bucs have resisted to this point.

Jackson can sense time running out and changes coming

One thing about Jackson is he’s no fool. He’s seen this scenario play out before. During his time with the Philadelphia Eagles, he saw Andy Reid slowly lose his grip on his job in 2012, ushering in the era of Chip Kelly. It’s possible that the receiver can sense the same thing happening again. Everybody knows Dirk Koetter came into 2018 on the hot seat. He needs to win if he wants to keep his job. The way things are going? That’s not happening.

Hence why Jackson wants out. He’d rather go to a different team, hopefully a contender rather than experience another hitting of the reset button. He turns 32-years old this December and doesn’t have a ton of time left. No doubt watching his former team win the Super Bowl last year sped up the clock in his head, informing him that he needs to make a decision.

The Buccaneers though are in a serious bind. They aren’t completely out of the playoff picture and Jackson represents a huge part of their offense with 526 yards and three touchdowns so far. That’s almost equivalent to what star Mike Evans has done. One can understand why they’re reluctant to oblige his request. It’s a difficult situation that may be decided by what happens today.