Former Chargers and Buccaneers WR Vincent Jackson found dead in Florida hotel

[Wingnut 3,732]

Wow. Just 38 years old and a great guy in the community.

https://www.wfla.com/news/local-news/former-bucs-player-vincent-jackson-found-dead-in-brandon-hotel-room/

Edited February 15 by Wingnut

[Yogibear 106]

Did they say what the cause of death was?  I'm assuming maybe it was robbery, possibly?

[Capella 31,525]

Horrible. Wow. 

[Sister Havana 20]

Gone much too soon. How sad.

[Deamon 5,617]

Really weird.  No signs of trauma.

[The Man With No Name 1,145]

9080 yards, 57 touchdowns. Not bad. 

Sad news

[Sea Duck 1,475]

8 minutes ago, Yogibear said:

Did they say what the cause of death was?  I'm assuming maybe it was robbery, possibly?

No signs of trauma, per ESPN.

[DocHolliday 4,208]

Wow.   Sad news.  Guy was fun to watch play.  

[socrates 760]

Very sad.  When Reggie White died also very young, I had the same disbelief.  RIP Vincent Jackson

[Capella 31,525]

From Jenna Laine’s Twitter 

For those who didn’t follow Vincent Jackson’s career in Tampa...he and his life Lindsey put on baby showers for military families. They wrote a series of children’s books to help families cope with deployment. He represented everything that was good about Tampa Bay. We loved him.
 

I look at the player, the man and the role model Mike Evans has become after seven years in the NFL, and I see so much of the example Vincent Jackson set for him each day. His thumbprint is all over Mike, and Mike has passed that on to his young teammates.

 

[IHEARTFF 1,208]

This really sucks 

[GoBirds 10,397]

Sad to see this, he was a beast and so much life ahead of him. Ugh. 

[Stinkin Ref 1,348]

live about 6 miles north of the University of Northern Colorado where he went to school......watched him play a ton and worked on the chain crew for several of his games......he dominated.....total beast....heard many fun conversations between head coaches and their DC's talking about how to stop that kid....

"ya think maybe we ought to maybe try covering that kid?"....

"coach, we are....we are doubling him every play"....

"ya think maybe we got 3 or 4 guys that we can put on him?".....

sad day....

 

[Desert_Power 1,064]

32 minutes ago, Capella said:

From Jenna Laine’s Twitter 

For those who didn’t follow Vincent Jackson’s career in Tampa...he and his life Lindsey put on baby showers for military families. They wrote a series of children’s books to help families cope with deployment. He represented everything that was good about Tampa Bay. We loved him.
 

I look at the player, the man and the role model Mike Evans has become after seven years in the NFL, and I see so much of the example Vincent Jackson set for him each day. His thumbprint is all over Mike, and Mike has passed that on to his young teammates.

 

Had no idea, thanks for sharing.

[foxco 362]

Horrible news. RIP.

[need2know 6,411]

What the hell was he doing living in a hotel room for a month?   

[ffmail4me 914]

extremely sad  

[Capella 31,525]

39 minutes ago, Desert_Power said:

Had no idea, thanks for sharing.

4 time man of the year nominee for the Bucs. Did so much for the military here. Just very sad to hear, can’t imagine what could have happened. 

Edited February 15 by Capella

[Ilov80s 31,066]

35 minutes ago, need2know said:

What the hell was he doing living in a hotel room for a month?   

Obviously something was up. Perhaps falling out with his wife? 

Sad as by all accounts he was a good guy. 

[Ilov80s 31,066]

4 minutes ago, need2know said:

Maybe.  Hate to speculate but maybe he was doing some drugs in there?

It’s certainly possible there was drugs or depression involved. I’m sure we will find out. Real shame to hear with a wife and 4 young kids.

[gump 2,087]

42 minutes ago, Ilov80s said:

Obviously something was up. Perhaps falling out with his wife? 

Sad as by all accounts he was a good guy. 

I was thinking CTE, but just speculating. 

[menobrown 4,245]

1 hour ago, need2know said:

What the hell was he doing living in a hotel room for a month?   

 

I just read up on this.

His went AWOL on his family, I don't know when but they reported him missing this past Wednesday. On Friday the police located him, spoke with him and did a wellness check and canceled the missing persons case.  3 days later he is found dead by a house cleaner.

Edited February 16 by menobrown

[need2know 6,411]

15 minutes ago, menobrown said:

 

I just read up on this.

His went AWOL on his family, I don't know when but they reported him missing this past Wednesday. On Friday the police located him, spoke with him and did a wellness check and canceled the missing persons case.  3 days later he is found dead by a house cleaner.

Something crazy was going on

[Da Guru 6,568]

3 hours ago, socrates said:

Very sad.  When Reggie White died also very young, I had the same disbelief.  RIP Vincent Jackson

Reggie had severe sleep apnea and was a 300lb man.  VJ was a lean athlete.    I guess it does not matter when your number come up.

VJ was a very solid WR and had some really good years.    In todays game he would be even better.  RIP

[Hot Sauce Guy 9,218]

Just saw that on the Twitters. Sad - 38 is way too young. #RIP

[Ministry of Pain 5,723]

Several things go thru my mind...

-He made $70M over his 12 yrs in the NFL and retired in 2018, he couldn't have been broke. But maybe he was brokenhearted 

-He earned his degree in Business Management from USF in 2016, that sounds like someone who was planning for life after football. 

-Suicide is difficult to discuss but it comes in several forms, overdose from drugs or alcohol might not technically be suicide but it would seem close. 

-He taught Mike Evans quite a lot before he retired. 

-Jackson was from all accounts a great citizen in the Tampa Community.

Sources say that Jackson had been missing for days...how does this happen? 

This is a terrible feeling tonight, it can happen to anyone at any level or status in class, money doesn't always cover the bill for emotions. 

RIP Vincent, sorry we couldn't help you in time. 

[Punxsutawney Phil 905]

It would be wild if it was drugs, as he was the responsible vet when Josh Freeman was doing ecstasy.  I remember Freeman binged out one night and missed Becht's football camp for kids.  V-jax was one of the guys who always made it.

[Joe Bryant 10,533]

Quote

Maybe.  Hate to speculate but maybe he was doing ...

 

I hate that too. So let's don't.

[Grahamburn 2,105]

I heard this news yesterday and immediately went home to play with my kids.  I'm the same age as VJax.  Loved watching you play.  RIP.  Thank you for the contributions you made to our community.

[DocHolliday 4,208]

I didn’t know Vincent was such a great contributor in the community.   It’s so nice to hear and we don’t hear enough about the good guys in the NFL.   

[rockaction 26,308]

This is saddening. RIP. Condolences to his family, his wife, and his children.

[wgoldsph 967]

Never knew how great a guy he was during his career.  Very sad it took his passing for that to reach me.

[Ministry of Pain 5,723]

Glad that so many fathers in here are using this opportunity to connect with their kids and loved ones. 

What happened with VJax? We may never truly know and I agree with others including @Joe Bryant that it doesn't matter to most of us, what matters is how we go forward in our own lives.  I love talking football on these boards and many of us have had the pleasure now for over 2 decades to find a safe place to post and discuss, learn and grow, some of us including myself take longer sometimes. 

I called my 21-year old son last night and I just let him know that I believe in him and that I stand with him in his choices thus far. It might not be what i would have decided but nobody came down on me when I was his age, in fact i lost my mother when she was 46 to cancer, I was 21, same age as my son. It was an epic conversation as he was working an overnight, he manages or is in management at Publix, he's been working hard on the front lines this entire time and moving ahead. I love him almost too much at times and I didn't really get to have him until he was 18 so we've been making up for lost time. I'm grateful everyday i have him and I am so thankful his mother did not honor my initial wishes(think about that).

The icing on the cake was this past Super Bowl, he was born and now lives in St Pete/Tampa and I am one of the luckiest men on this entire message board. I know so many dads or men do not get the opportunity I have been afforded to connect at a later age in their lives. One of the things I try and do is let go of the mic and let him talk, don't inject my opinion(but he asks) all the time, I actually learn a lot thru him and he keeps me sharp on all the latest tech and gadgets and such. 

I worked hard in the last year with folks like @bostonfred  @krista4 @Otis and those are probably not the three names you would associate with me but they gave me a chance to prove I wanted to make some changes and it's allowed me to put myself in position to succeed in my relationships and be the father I always wanted to be(still a work in progress)...and i have a lot to learn and I still have a lot of growing to do in how I treat people in general but I'm making progress. 

Reach out if you can and let those you love know how much you love them. 

Cheers Everyone!

[rockaction 26,308]

1 minute ago, Ministry of Pain said:

I worked hard in the last year with folks like @bostonfred  @krista4 @Otis and those are probably not the three names you would associate with me but they gave me a chance to prove I wanted to make some changes and it's allowed me to put myself in position to succeed in my relationships and be the father I always wanted to be(still a work in progress)...and i have a lot to learn and I still have a lot of growing to do in how I treat people in general but I'm making progress. 

Reach out if you can and let those you love know how much you love them. 

Cheers Everyone!

Good for you, MoP. Glad to hear it.

[G-King 481]

11 minutes ago, Ministry of Pain said:

Glad that so many fathers in here are using this opportunity to connect with their kids and loved ones. 

What happened with VJax? We may never truly know and I agree with others including @Joe Bryant that it doesn't matter to most of us, what matters is how we go forward in our own lives.  I love talking football on these boards and many of us have had the pleasure now for over 2 decades to find a safe place to post and discuss, learn and grow, some of us including myself take longer sometimes. 

I called my 21-year old son last night and I just let him know that I believe in him and that I stand with him in his choices thus far. It might not be what i would have decided but nobody came down on me when I was his age, in fact i lost my mother when she was 46 to cancer, I was 21, same age as my son. It was an epic conversation as he was working an overnight, he manages or is in management at Publix, he's been working hard on the front lines this entire time and moving ahead. I love him almost too much at times and I didn't really get to have him until he was 18 so we've been making up for lost time. I'm grateful everyday i have him and I am so thankful his mother did not honor my initial wishes(think about that).

The icing on the cake was this past Super Bowl, he was born and now lives in St Pete/Tampa and I am one of the luckiest men on this entire message board. I know so many dads or men do not get the opportunity I have been afforded to connect at a later age in their lives. One of the things I try and do is let go of the mic and let him talk, don't inject my opinion(but he asks) all the time, I actually learn a lot thru him and he keeps me sharp on all the latest tech and gadgets and such. 

I worked hard in the last year with folks like @bostonfred  @krista4 @Otis and those are probably not the three names you would associate with me but they gave me a chance to prove I wanted to make some changes and it's allowed me to put myself in position to succeed in my relationships and be the father I always wanted to be(still a work in progress)...and i have a lot to learn and I still have a lot of growing to do in how I treat people in general but I'm making progress. 

Reach out if you can and let those you love know how much you love them. 

Cheers Everyone!

My only son, who is 21 also, is a fireman/EMT. Although we’ve always been close (I coached or participated in every sport, hobby, or school project) I’ve noticed the last couple of years we have distanced at the fun stuff. Rightfully so I guess as he spreads his wings and moves out of Pops shadow and creates his own life, career, relationships. As a Type A dad we all go through it. But because the things he sees daily-wrecks, suicides, old age deaths, etc- I find myself calling him after every shift to open the lines of communication. Tell me about his day without pressing the issue. He almost always talks to me about it, which opens the door for me to ask questions about how he is handling it. I don’t know how much more proud I can be that I have that relationship with him and my daughter. But when I see what people like Vincent Jackson possibly was going through, I feel bad if he didn’t have some family member to talk to if he needed it. We have no clue if that was even an issue, but it does make us think as men, “Have we done all we can to the young men in our lives?” I hope so. I feel for his four kids. Hopefully they will have someone that ask them about their days in the future.

[Ministry of Pain 5,723]

36 minutes ago, G-King said:

My only son, who is 21 also, is a fireman/EMT. Although we’ve always been close (I coached or participated in every sport, hobby, or school project) I’ve noticed the last couple of years we have distanced at the fun stuff. Rightfully so I guess as he spreads his wings and moves out of Pops shadow and creates his own life, career, relationships. As a Type A dad we all go through it. But because the things he sees daily-wrecks, suicides, old age deaths, etc- I find myself calling him after every shift to open the lines of communication. Tell me about his day without pressing the issue. He almost always talks to me about it, which opens the door for me to ask questions about how he is handling it. I don’t know how much more proud I can be that I have that relationship with him and my daughter. But when I see what people like Vincent Jackson possibly was going through, I feel bad if he didn’t have some family member to talk to if he needed it. We have no clue if that was even an issue, but it does make us think as men, “Have we done all we can to the young men in our lives?” I hope so. I feel for his four kids. Hopefully they will have someone that ask them about their days in the future.

I'm sure this means a lot to your son, it's been even tougher on EMTs and the like in the past 12 months now and will continue throughout this year at least. 

[Deamon 5,617]

This is pretty crazy and super sad.  Sounds like the hotel staff found him dead 2 days prior. 
 

Based on the timeline of events described in the Initial Case Summary provided to ESPN by the medical examiner's office, Jackson was located by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office as part of a welfare check on Feb. 12. Then on Feb. 13 and 14, the hotel staff entered his room and noticed that he was seated on the couch but slouched over.

"They assumed he was sleeping and left the room," the report said.

On Feb. 15, hotel staff again entered Jackson's room and determined he hadn't moved from his previous spot and called 911 at 11:37 a.m. There were no signs of trauma or injury, other than a small laceration on his left big toe, according to the report.