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Tragedy beset the NFL world yesterday as Vincent Jackson, the former Buccaneer and Chargers wideout, was found dead in his hotel room in Brandon, Florida.
As of yet, the coroner has not performed an autopsy on Jackson, so the cause of death is still unknown. Detectives who tended to the scene have gone on record as saying that there was no trauma to the body and no apparent sign of a struggle.
The sudden and tragic loss of Vincent Jackson has hit the NFL hard, with numerous players taking to social media to pay tribute to their fallen comrade.
It's terribly sad to lose a man of such promise at such a young age and the thoughts of Sportskeeda's writing team are with the Jackson family.
In tribute to a great player and an even greater man (he touched countless lives through his Jackson In Action 83 Foundation), let's take a quick look back at Vincent Jackson's NFL career and retirement.
A look back at Vincent Jackson's NFL career
Vincent Jackson was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1983. He showed athletic promise from a young age and attended Northern Colorado University to play football as a student.
The receiver was a wild success in college and finished his tenure at Northern Colorado as the Bears' all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards, kick-return yards, punt-return yards, and receiving touchdowns.
The San Diego Chargers clearly took note of Jackson's superb performances at college: they opted to draft him in the second round (pick 61) of the 2005 NFL draft.
Jackson went on to represent the Chargers for seven years, twice posting +1,000 yard-seasons and scoring 37 TDs. During Jackson's time in San Diego, the Chargers made it to the playoffs on four occasions (2006,2007,2008 & 2009).
A contract dispute soured the way Jackson exited San Diego, but after becoming an unrestricted free-agent in 2005, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers brought him to Florida. Jackson went on to post three consecutive +1,000-yard seasons for the Bucs and, by the end of his career, had been named to the Pro Bowl three times. He truly was a superb receiver (see video below if you missed his career).
When did Vincent Jackson retire?
Jackson's first three years spent at Tampa were a phenomenal success, he tallied up +1,000-yards in 2012 (1,384-yards), 2013 (1,224-yards), and 2014 (1,002-yards).
That sad decline in form that accompanies practically all great players, as the wick burns down on their careers, set in for Jackson in 2015. The wideout struggled with injury and his production began to decline as he posted his lowest numbers in a Bucs' uniform that season.
In 2016, Jackson returned to the Bucs' fold but never recaptured the fitness or form that had seen him voted to three Pro Bowls.
Jackson suffered a season-ending knee injury during the Week 5 victory against the Carolina Panthers. He was placed on injured reserve for the remainder of year and opted to retire during the 2017 offseason.
His form across those first three years was crucial to what success the Bucs did have and he will forever be remembered fondly down Tampa.
RIP V-jax
