Chris Jackson signs with Green Bay Packers
August 1, 2002 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Los Angeles Avengers News Release
LOS ANGELES -- The Green Bay Packers have signed wide receiver Chris Jackson to a free-agent contract, head coach and general manager Mike Sherman announced today.
Jackson, a key player for the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League for the past three seasons, has had previous NFL experiences with three other teams. He was on the practice roster of the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1998 and 1999, before joining the Tennessee Titans for one game in 2000 (a back injury forced him to the sidelines and on the injured reserve list).
This past season, Jackson caught 85 passes for 1,205 yards and 28 touchdowns in 10 games for the Avengers. In his three-year AFL career in Los Angeles, he has 238 receptions for 3,255 yards, and has scored a total of 69 touchdowns (at least one in all 33 games he played in for the Avengers).
Following the Avengers' 2000 inaugural season, Jackson was honored as the AFL's "Rookie of the Year" after leading the team in receiving yardage (1,325 - No. 5 in the AFL), receptions (91 - No. 8), scoring (156 points - No. 5), touchdowns (26 - No. 5) and all-purpose yards per game (124.9 - No. 9). He came 11 yards short of breaking the AFL record for receiving yards by a rookie held by current Miami Dolphins wide receiver Oronde Gadsden, who racked up 1,335 yards for the 1998 Portland Forest Dragons.
Jackson was one of quarterback Ryan Leaf's main targets when he played two seasons at Washington State (1996-97). As a senior in 1997, he set the Cougar single-season record for touchdown receptions with 11 and was ranked as the No. 4 receiver in the Pacific-10 Conference (54 receptions for 1,005 yards). Jackson caught five passes for 89 yards in Washington State's 1998 Rose Bowl loss to Michigan.
Incredibly, his first year of playing football was in 1994 at Orange Coast College (Costa Mesa, Calif.), where he averaged 21.1 yards per catch. He also played basketball at the University of California at Riverside for one season before moving on to Orange Coast College.
Jackson was a standout basketball player and track athlete at Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, Calif.). He played in the state championship basketball game, but lost to a team led by Jason Kidd.
To make room on the roster, the Packers waived rookie kicker Rob Bironas of Georgia Southern.
Avenger season tickets for the 2003 season, which begins in February, are now on sale and can be purchased by calling 1-888-AVENGERS.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from August 1, 2002
- This Week in the AFL - Playoff Edition - OSC Original by Mark Sargent
- Chris Jackson signs with Green Bay Packers - Los Angeles Avengers
- Playoff Quick Hitters - AFL I
- Rush Signs Hohensee to Contract Extension - Chicago Rush
- Lord of the Rings - AFL I
- Crafts Road Show Stops in Montreal - Buffalo Destroyers
- Cooper, James Honored By Teammates - Buffalo Destroyers
- Cobras Travel to Valley of Sun for Quarterfinal Battle - Carolina Cobras
- Arena Football League Transactions - AFL I
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
