The Facts: Jackson signed a three-year, $33.5 million contract, with $20 million guaranteed, in Tampa Bay to be Jameis Winston's field-stretching weapon. For a 30-year-old receiver who relies on speed and hasn't played 16 games in one season since 2013, that's a lot of cash. OC Todd Monken expects Jackson to live up to the contract.
Diehards Line:
And the coach said so in no uncertain terms. "How can we get DeSean Jackson up to playing at a really high level? Not that he's still not capable of it, but how do we get him to play at why we paid him?' Monken said Thursday. "I've told him that, 'we have paid you a hell of a lot of money to be a damn good player. We're not paying you a lot of money, this is a contract where we're paying you for what you've done for us. ... We're not paying like [Derek] Jeter the last three years. ... We don't have any old street cred that we're paying you. No. We need you to be a great player now. Okay? That's why we gave you the money. You came here because of the money. Don't give me all that bull about you came here because of the weather and Jameis. No. You came here because we paid you the most. You need to play like that. He gets that. He's smart enough to understand that. ..." So. ... It's safe to say the Buccaneers have some expectations here.