Bill Williamson, who runs the AFC West blog, offers up a Vincent Jackson free agency primer this morning. This matters to us because, here at the NFC East blog, we believe Jackson is and should be the No. 1 free-agent wide receiver target for the Washington Redskins.
Bill believes Jackson will get a contract worth about $50 million over five years, that he'll sign on the first day of free agency, that the Chargers still have a chance to keep him in spite of all of the bad blood over his contract situation of the past two or three years and that the Redskins' competition for Jackson's services will include the Bears, 49ers, Patriots and Bills.
All makes sense. The Redskins surely have the cap room to afford him, and Mike Shanahan is determined to find a true No. 1 wide receiver this offseason. Jackson, with his size, speed and skills, qualifies as that, and I believe the Redskins will be heavily involved in trying to sign him. Whether they succeed could depend on how much they're willing to spend. But if one or more of those other teams is willing to spend just as much, it could depend on what they can convincingly tell Jackson about who'll be throwing him the ball if he does sign with them.