The Commanders are continuing with efforts to unload William Jackson, but if they cannot find a taker, they are prepared to move on either way.
Barring a trade, Washington intends to cut Jackson, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Jackson has not played since Week 4, when Washington benched him. The seventh-year cornerback is tied to the three-year, $40.5MM contract the team gave him in 2021.
If Washington moves on after today’s 3pm trade deadline, Jackson hits waivers. That would seem immaterial here, considering no team has — as of yet — wanted to pony up an asset to take on Jackson’s contract. It is worth speculating how much of Jackson’s $5MM base salary the Commanders are willing to take on to move him. Odds are, the team is willing to pay most of it.
The likelier scenario is the ex-Bengals first-rounder hits free agency. While Jackson’s initial crack at free agency produced an eight-figure-per-year AAV, the second stint stands to be quieter. A mid-October report indicated teams had shown interest in acquiring Jackson, but with nothing transpiring hours ahead of the deadline, potential suitors may be OK with pursuing the veteran corner in free agency. Teams are indeed waiting out the Commanders, ESPN.com’s John Keim tweets.
Jackson, who turned 30 last week, has made 64 career starts. He is viewed as a better fit for a man-based defense and excelled at points during his Cincinnati tenure. In 2020, he held quarterbacks to a collective 51.4% completion rate as the closest defender in coverage. That season provided a nice platform to a free agency payday. This season, that number spiked to 70.8% at 7.9 yards per target. Pro Football Focus rates Jackson just outside the top 90 among corners in 2022.
The Commanders have won three straight, having played ex-waiver claim Rachad Wildgoose more alongside starters Kendall Fuller and Benjamin St-Juste. The team would be hit with a whopping $13MM in dead money by cutting Jackson — assuming no team claims his contract.
Steelers have always liked Jackson. And boy do they need somebody at corner.
agreed but unfortunately they’re in the midst of a rebuild so wouldn’t make much sense to bring in a 30 year old cb
in the long run , they have 3 pretty good corners but all are hurt at current
With Awuzie season ending injury Bengals should bring him back.
Zero chance that happens. Bengals want nothing to do with him. Bad guy, bad player.
He’s a frustrating, inconsistent player for a long commitment, but if you catch one of his good periods, he can be a nifty contributor, especially on a team that plays a lot of man. A lot of lacking corner groups out there.
Geez this guy has not impressed me at all. Consistently beaten and overpaid, just one more failure that the Snyder admin has played suckers for. Move him on!