5:26pm: Jackson has indeed worked out a deal to remain with the Giants in 2024, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo report. To no surprise, this will be a one-year agreement. Jackson will have the opportunity to once again serve in a notable role in New York before hitting the open market next spring.
9:25am: Steady updates of Giants concerns about their No. 2 cornerback spot may be leading them back to their previous plan. Although the team was not believed to be eyeing another deal with Adoree’ Jackson during the offseason, it looks like the situation has changed.
Jackson is meeting with the Giants today and is negotiating a deal to return, veteran NFL reporter Jordan Schultz tweets. The last of PFR’s top 50 free agents to remain unsigned, the veteran cornerback may soon have a second Giants contract in place. The former first-round pick started 36 games with the team on his previous deal. Mutual interest exists in a reunion, Schultz adds.
The Giants initially brought in Jackson on a three-year, $39MM deal during Dave Gettleman‘s final offseason in charge. They paired him with 2020 free agency pickup James Bradberry. Those two big-ticket contracts overlapped with Daniel Jones‘ rookie deal. With Jones now in Year 2 of a $40MM-AAV extension, the Giants had scaled back in the secondary. Two years after cutting Bradberry, the team let Xavier McKinney walk in free agency and was not intending to re-sign Jackson. But his replacement candidates have not seized the boundary job opposite 2023 first-rounder Deonte Banks.
Previously pinning their hopes on 2022 third-rounder Cor’Dale Flott — the team’s primary slot corner from 2022-23 — taking over for Jackson outside, the Giants saw the young defender struggle before suffering an injury earlier this month. Flott’s status moved Nick McCloud (11 career starts) into the mix to land the job, but a recent report suggested the Giants were looking into cornerback additions. They added veteran Duke Shelley to their practice squad Thursday; Jackson would qualify as a higher-profile pickup.
Jackson, 29 in September, missed time with an MCL sprain in 2022 but returned to help the Giants contain Justin Jefferson in the team’s wild-card upset. This came after Pro Football Focus had viewed the former Titans first-round pick as a top-20 corner in 2021. The Giants asked Jackson to shift to the slot to accommodate sixth-round rookie Tre Hawkins to open last season. Once Don Martindale benched the Day 3 rookie early in the season, Jackson was back in his old job — with Flott back in the slot — after weeks of inside training. PFF slotted Jackson outside the top 100 among CBs in 2023.
Although the Giants changed defensive systems this offseason, Jackson has experience with new DC Shane Bowen. Drafted during Mike Mularkey‘s HC run, the USC alum’s Tennessee tenure overlapped partially with Bowen’s. The current New York defensive honcho was in place as Titans outside linebackers coach during part of Jackson’s Tennessee tenure. Though, the Titans cut Jackson — who had missed extensive time due to injury in 2020 — ahead of Bowen’s first DC season. This came back when teams could pick up players’ fifth-year options and cut them free of charge. Jackson’s 2017 rookie class was the last to not have their Year 5 options fully guaranteed.
While Chidobe Awuzie and Kendall Fuller found homes quickly as third-contract-seeking CBs, Jackson’s market did not take off. The Giants look close to ending his lengthy free agency stay, however, and providing Bowen some veteran stability at CB2.
I’m not really too surprised by this, given how the Giants’ backfield has shaken out. It seems like a couple of developments took Schoen by surprise this offseason (namely the McKinney and Barkley developments, and the inability to move up for Maye), and it affected his plan for other positions on the team as well.
Jackson’s seen better days for sure, but if New York refrains from moving him around too much in the defense and slots him in underneath instead of outside, he’ll probably play better than he has outside lately. Jackson still excels at keeping targets out of the endzone, but he seems like he’s lost a lot of top end speed to cover targets effective on the long ball, and his tackling has fallen off (which admittedly isn’t a great trait in the slot). But he still has a lot of experience in comparison to the Giants’ young corps there, and still can cover in short area space effectively.
I was wondering how long it would be until the Giants called Jackson. The Giants could use his veteran presence in the young secondary locker room and I think Jackson’s lack of interest by other teams will awaken him and the many ‘business decisions’ he made last year in not tackling will be gone as he needs to prove himself to the Giants and the rest of the league.
Has Jackson lost a step, absolutely, however I don’t see the team putting him on the slot receiver. Instead he’ll be CB2 and work on the outside. In Bowens new defense it’s not like Martindales where CBs need to shut down receivers because of all the blitzing, instead with Bowens ‘bend don’t break’ defense he’ll have more safety help to bring down the receiver.
Should sign for the veterans minimum.
That’s a good point, considering the scheme change. If Jackson can’t handle it, he’ll be back inside, but ideally he should be outside if possible. Martindale’s scheme last could have been the impetus for Jackson’s regression, but I’ll have to see him in this new scheme to form an opinion as to whether the scheme was mostly to blame. You’re probably right that the blitzing didn’t do a veteran who’s lost a step or two any favors, but Jackson did prove that he can cover in short distance and the endzone.
Mistake
Even considering the available options?
They could use him. My only worry would be the almost inevitable pulled hamstring returning after missing camp. No matter how hard they work to stay in shape, it’s never the same as competing in team activities.