Ravens Sign Ex-Cal WR Desean Jackson

The 35-year-old wideout was signed to Baltimore's practice squad and is likely to be elevated to the active roster

Former Cal wide receiver Desean Jackson announced on a podcast recently that he is not retired, and the Baltimore Ravens took him up on it, signing the veteran wideout to their practice squad with the likelihood that he will elevated to the active roster on game day.

.The 35-year-old Jackson had not played since the 2021 season, when he played in 16 games, including four starts for the Raiders and Rams.  He had 20 catches for 454 yards overall last season, including eight catches for 221 yards for the Rams, before being waived by the Rams and signed by the Raiders.  He had 12 catches for 233 yards in nine games (four starters) for Las Vegas.

He became a free agent after the season, but he still has the speed to stretch the field as indicated by 22.7 yards per reception last season, the highest in his 14-year NFL career.

The expectation is that Jackson will get elevated to play in Sunday's home game against the Cleveland Browns to help  the Ravens' deep-passing game. 

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has completed just 21% of his passes that have traveled at least 20 yard in the air. That's the second worst in the NFL.

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Jackson is a three-time Pro Bowl selection who has 632 career receptions for 11,110 yards and 58 touchdowns. He led the NFL in yards per reception four times.

Jackson played three seasons at Cal from 2005 through 2007 and had 162 receptions for 2,322 yards and 22 touchdowns. He had 199 rushing yards and one touchdown on the ground at Cal, and he also scored six touchdowns on punt returns, including four return touchdowns in 2006.

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Cover photo of Desean Jackson is by Trevor Ruszkowski, USA TODAY Sports

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