Jamison Crowder, left, who set a Redskins rookie receptions record with 59 last season, shakes hands at practice on Wednesday with Jordan Reed, who set team records for tight ends during his 87-catch, 11-touchdown year. (John McDonnell/Washington Post)

There was a time, just an offseason ago, when DeSean Jackson’s independence would have been major news. His decision to skip another voluntary practice in another crucial year would have made his team face-palm and prompted sports-bar patrons to argue until their beers turned warm. It would have felt as if the Washington Redskins were being held hostage by the reality that the importance of Jackson, despite his mercurial behavior, outweighed the desire to make him conform.

On Wednesday, however, the most stunning development wasn’t that Jackson didn’t make an appearance. It was that you hardly recognized his absence. For the first time in Jackson’s two-plus years in Washington, the team’s receiving options are so deep and diverse that there’s no reason to obsess over Jackson.

And that’s where the 2016 season gets really interesting.

It’s not that Washington doesn’t need Jackson. He’s still one of the top deep threats in the NFL, even coming off the worst of his eight pro seasons. But this team has options now, many of them. With Jackson entering the final season of a three-year, $24 million contract, it makes his future one of the year’s most fascinating subplots.

I set the table for this last September , wondering whether Jackson fit into the team’s all-new culture. That’s when Jackson did his own thing in the offseason and nursed a training camp shoulder injury — and then hurt his hamstring the first time he went deep in the season opener against Miami. He wound up missing six games with that injury. For the season, he posted career lows in games played ( nine), receptions (30) and receiving yards (528).

DeSean Jackson, who interprets literally the terms ‘voluntary practices’ when many NFL players do not, is still an essential part of the offense. Though he had only 30 receptions in nine games last season, those went for 17.6 yards per catch. (Matt Rourke/Associated Press)

[From Sept. 2015: Jackson is a singular talent who might not work in D.C.]

Jackson turns 30 on Dec. 1. This season, he has a $9.25 million cap number. Washington would save $6.75 million against the cap if it cuts Jackson before June 1 or $8 million if it does so afterward. But that would be foolish because there’s no pressing reason to move on now, other than annoyance. Jackson remains a key to Washington’s hopes to repeat as champions of an NFC East division that could be much improved.

But Jackson’s long-term future? Well, that’s much murkier. The team drafted Josh Doctson in the first round and hopes to develop him into a No. 1 wide receiver. Jamison Crowder, a fourth-round draft pick in 2015, set a franchise rookie record with 59 catches last year. Doctson and Crowder are the future, and they’re good enough to be influential complementary players now. Jackson and Pierre Garcon are veterans in the final year of their contracts with much to prove.

Garcon also turns 30 this year . It’s possible that one of those veterans might return, depending on their demands, but both would be an extreme long shot. And the more diverse this passing game proves to be, the harder it will be to justify that Jackson is worth the patience.

“It’s an unbelievable amount of talent,” said Doctson, who was limited Wednesday with an injured Achilles’ tendon. “I’ve got to catch up, to be honest with you. I’m just watching them every day and thinking, ‘I’ve got to go to work.’ ”

Jackson is still the most electrifying receiver on the roster. Tight end Jordan Reed has become Kirk Cousins’s top target, but if Jackson is in top shape and remains healthy, he’s still the best bet to lead Washington in receiving yards. For as much as Jackson created exasperation last season with his hamstring injury, he helped take Cousins and the offense to another level when he returned.

[Kirk Cousins starts with a goal in mind: Consecutive NFC East titles]

Despite needs along the defensive line and at center, the Washington Redskins took the best player available. (Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post)

The difference this season is that if Jackson has a mediocre year and mediocre effort, the passing game still looks as if it can thrive. With Reed, Garcon, Doctson and Crowder to go with backup tight ends Niles Paul and former Pro Bowler Vernon Davis, there’s an impressive array of players who can serve many different roles. And Reed is emerging as an elite talent to lead them.

“I think Jordan Reed runs routes better than the best wide receiver in the league,” Davis said. “I’m being candid. I’m being totally, totally candid. Watching him, I was in awe.”

Davis told the story of watching Cousins look for Reed in practice. He smiled imagining the possibilities.

“He threw it to Jordan Reed. And he threw it to him again and again and again,” Davis said. “I started licking my lips. I was like, ‘Wow, look at this.’ This is a tight end-friendly offense.”

As usual, Coach Jay Gruden and the players say they aren’t bothered by Jackson’s absence because these are voluntary sessions. But coming off a playoff appearance, there’s such a good vibe around the team and talk of players being locked in and committed to doing what it takes to keep making progress. There’s only so much room for Jackson to be different, considering the direction in which the team is going. If he takes care of business and returns as peak Jackson, then all is fine.

[Five things to watch during Redskins offseason practices]

If he doesn’t, then, well, let’s just say Washington is in better shape than it has been before during Jackson’s time here.

“It’s exciting to have that many talented players on your offense,” Cousins said.

New cornerback Josh Norman is even impressed. He marveled at the receiving options and the team’s route combinations. He sees talent and creativity. And while Jackson was around for the first phase of the offseason team activities, Norman hasn’t been on the field with him in a competitive situation like this since joining the team.

“I’ve seen most of them,” Norman said of the receivers. “Not all of them.”

Most is pretty dang good. All would be spectacular. It’s up to Jackson to make the group spectacular. If he doesn’t, Washington is well on its way to being solid without him.

For more by Jerry Brewer, visit washingtonpost.com/brewer.