Colts Cut LB D’Qwell Jackson

The Colts have released linebacker D’Qwell Jackson, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The team has also confirmed the news via press release.

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Jackson, 33, has been with the Colts for the last three seasons. He joined the team on a four-year, $22MM contract with the expectation that he would anchor the team’s linebacking core. After a Pro Bowl season in 2014, Jackson started showed signs of decline and his off-the-field missteps haven’t helped matters. In March of last year, he was found guilty of simple assault, stemming from a February 2015 altercation with a delivery driver. Then, in December, he was handed a four-game ban for violating the league’s policy on performance enhancing drugs.

The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus have Jackson ranked as just the 80th best linebacker in the league out of 87 qualified players for 2016. By PFF’s numbers, Jackson has actually been playing below-average football for the last four seasons, with his last respectable season coming in 2012. In any case, the Colts are looking to go younger at linebacker and they were unwilling to pay Jackson a $500K roster bonus in March. Had they kept him, he would have carried a $5.75MM cap number for ’17.