There was a time when Bears safety Eddie Jackson was considered among the top safeties in the NFL.
During his first two seasons, Jackson established himself as an instinctive player with a nose for the football. Jackson totaled eight interceptions, three forced fumbles, and scored five defensive touchdowns from 2017-18.
But after signing a lucrative contract extension in 2019, Jackson hasn’t recorded an interception in the last two seasons. He’s also has been subject to criticism over the last couple of years due to his tackling and effort.
With a new defensive scheme in place — and the addition of a true strong safety in rookie Jaquan Brisker — Jackson has a chance to get back to his playmaking ways in 2022.
“Some people have a special talent to get to the football and we definitely don’t want to suppress that,” said safeties coach Andre Curtis, via ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. “So within our scheme of things and within the framework that we have and our defensive structure, just allow him some freedoms to do his job and when he sees something to go make plays. Really good guys can see the opportunities present themselves within the flow of a game and then they go make plays, you know. We definitely don’t want to coach the instincts and the play making stuff out of Eddie.”
There’s no doubt Jackson has had a couple of rough years, and the criticism has been more than fair. Especially given his massive $15.09 million cap hit in 2022.
But Jackson also hasn’t had a true strong safety since Adrian Amos departed in 2019. With the addition of Brisker, Jackson won’t have to play so much in the box and will be able to roam centerfield and make plays, which is where he thrived during his first two seasons.
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