Jackson and his agent had said that the player wouldn’t report at all this season due to his unhappiness at not getting a long-term deal. Counting the six games he plays and the bye week, Jackson will earn $240,058 rather than the $3,268,000 he would have made had he signed his tender as a restricted free agent before the season.
Jackson declined to speak with reporters. In a statement issued by the team, he said: “It feels good to be with my teammates. I’ve missed football more than you can imagine.’’
Smith didn’t return calls seeking comment.
The Chargers (2-5) have lost three straight games and committed 18 turnovers this year, one more than all of last season.
“The biggest thing is he makes big plays and he’s experienced,’’ coach Norv Turner said. “Vincent’s a guy who’s produced over the last three years at an awfully high level.’’
Texans order sweep
Texans owner Bob McNair ordered the team’s staff to go through the locker room to make sure no players are using banned substances, saying the team has the right to control players while they’re in the team’s facilities.
Texans spokesman Kevin Cooper said the procedure took place “about a month ago.’’ NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the decision “is a club matter.’’
USA Today first reported the Texans had staff members remove any products from lockers that are not approved by the NFL. Two of Houston’s players — left tackle Duane Brown and linebacker Brian Cushing — served four-game suspensions this season for different violations of the league’s policy on banned substances. McNair said he wanted to take a step to prevent future occurrences.
“We concluded that one thing we can do is to just go through the locker room and make sure that if anybody is using anything, it’s a product from one of the approved manufacturers,’’ McNair said. “That’s about all that we can do.’’
Bridge to London
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