The oak base of Vincent Jackson's locker is barely visible, hiding beneath a sprawl of navy blue.
Among the blend of shirts, sweatshirts and a clothes hamper, white 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of paper are loosely stacked together, organized only by the chronological order at which they were placed.
Fellow Chargers wide receiver Patrick Crayton gave the neighboring locker a quick glance.
“Those papers are what people have been throwing in there,” Crayton said. “Why they keep putting (them) in there, I don't know.”
All those notices can be sorted through now.
After months of will-he or won't-he, Jackson met with the Chargers at 1 p.m. and signed a one-year tender within the hour, ending a saga that had long left doubt as to whether or not the Pro Bowler would ever see that locker again.
"It feels good to be with my teammates. I’ve missed football more than you can imagine,” Jackson said in a press release. “Right now I’m just looking forward to being able to practice and get back on the field. My only concern is doing whatever I can to contribute and help the team win. The future will take care of itself."
Jackson, whose tender has dropped from $3.268 million in June to now $280,823 after a proration, is required to sit out three games as a member of the Roster Exempt List. He will make his season debut on Nov. 28, a Week 12 game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Crayton is gaining more than a neighbor.
“He's a playmaker,” Crayton said. “Enough said. The more playmakers we can have on this offense the better. We've got a lot of them, but we're wounded. We've got to get everyone back healthy.”
No doubt, the Chargers could use Jackson now.
At wide receiver, Malcom Floyd (hamstring) could be weeks away from returning, and Legedu Naanee (hamstring) is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game against the Titans. He returned to practice Wednesday but was unable to finish, sitting out Thursday and Friday as well.
Richard Goodman dislocated his right ring finger and ripped the webbing of his hand when catching a pass in Wednesday's practice. Favoring his injury, he made only left-handed catches during Thursday's session and may be restricted to special teams duty Sunday.
Crayton and rookie Seyi Ajirotutu saw first-team reps Thursday with Buster Davis (ribs) resting. Davis returned as a limited particpant Friday.
Tight end Antonio Gates, who is playing through turf toe and listed as questionable, said he is excited to see his old teammate.
“I've been playing with him for five years now,” Gates said. “It's been kind of strange not to see him around. I'm looking forward to that, and I'm looking forward to him getting back on the field. ...I have a ton of respect for him, and I'm just happy he's coming back.”
In a release, Chargers GM A.J. Smith said he was "happy" to have Jackson back.
“I have no doubt he will go to work, work hard and quickly get into game-shape," Smith said. "Once he starts playing in games, I don’t think it will take him long for him to be a contributor and help us.”
