Denver Broncos put safety on hold After losing almost $1 million of his pay due to a string of illegal hits that resulted in two ejections, numerous fines, and six weeks of missed pay, Kareem Jackson has obviously not learned his lesson.
According to Jackson, this is because the NFL isn’t a very effective teacher.
The 14-year veteran claims the NFL is picking on him specifically and that they don’t have any answers for how he can modify his aggressive style of play to fit the modern game, in which the league no longer values the kind of collisions it once did.
Following his second suspension, Jackson was given the opportunity to speak with Commissioner Roger Goodell, but things didn’t turn out quite as he had intended.
“I was informed that I’m responsible for the offensive guys’ protection,’ Jackson said Monday night before hosting 50 youth from the Boys & Girls Club of Denver for his annual ‘JackaClaus Shopping Spree’ at a Walmart in suburban Parker.
‘So, I’m not really sure how I protect myself, make plays and protect them, as well. But that’s what I was told. And I’m not really sure what I do moving forward as far as playing this game. So, hopefully I’ll figure it out.
‘At the end of the day,’ added Jackson, ‘I’m going to go out and I’ll play the game as I have since 2010,’ Jackson said.
That ought to worry coach Sean Payton and Broncos fans.
He drew his second suspension for the first tackle he made upon his return from his first suspension when he blasted Vikings quarterback Joshua Dobbs in Week 11.
Thanks largely to the heady, steady play of his replacement, PJ Locke, the first safety in team history to record sacks in three consecutive games, the Broncos (7-6) have won four of the five games Jackson has missed.
Denver is trying to become just the fourth team since the merger to make the playoffs despite starting out 1-5.
The Broncos trail the sliding Kansas City Chiefs (8-5) by just one game in the AFC West, and Jackson is eligible to return to practice next week ahead of the Broncos’ Christmas Eve game against New England.
