National Football League

Steven Jackson hopes to play for a contender, then retire a Ram

Published May. 14, 2015 7:29 p.m. ET

foxsports

Steven Jackson has had a long productive 11-year career in the NFL, but the one thing the free agent running back has never experienced is playing for a winning team.

"That's the thing," Jackson told ESPN.com. "I have all the things I've accomplished personally, but I've still never been on a team that won more than eight games. That would be definitely one of the things that I'm looking for is that opportunity in my next chapter.

"I don't want to go to a team that is rebuilding and needs me to come on and teach guys how to be professional," Jackson said. "I've done that. I've been more than vocal about wanting to help young guys, but at some point I have to be a little selfish. I want to be part of a winning team because when I do hang up my cleats, I can see a lot of people holding that over my head when a lot of it was out of my control."

Jackson left the St. Louis Rams in 2013 looking for a shot to play for a winner. It did not work out in Atlanta the way he had hoped. In St. Louis, Jackson became the leading rusher in franchise history.

Jackson knows whatever happens with the rest of his career is that he wants to come back and retire a Ram where he has had the most personal success.

"I definitely want to retire as a Ram," Jackson said. "It's definitely something I want and that would be to go back. ... I'll never forget standing in that meeting room and watching Isaac Bruce retire. When I saw that up close and personal, I said I want that for myself whenever I retire."

(h/t ESPN)