Jackson III won't be in Chicago as his 2022 continues to unravel originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Commanders cornerback William Jackson III isn’t traveling with the team to Chicago for the club’s Week 6 game, a source confirmed to NBC Sports Washington. The news was first reported by Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network.
Jackson was limited in Tuesday’s practice with a back injury, one that he called a bulging disc during a recent session with reporters. It’ll be his second absence of the year, as he was held out of Week 3’s matchup against Philadelphia. He couldn’t face the Eagles because of his back as well.
The thought of the defender not being available for the meeting with the Bears isn’t all that worrisome, however, which is a sobering indicator of how his tenure with the organization is unfolding.
After a debut campaign in Washington that included a rash of coverage mishaps, six penalties and five missed games, the company line from Ron Rivera and other coaches was that Jackson was due for a noticeable uptick in comfort and production.
“Will is night and day,” secondary coach Chris Harris said in September. “He’s one of the guys I’m probably most excited to watch this season because I expect really big things.”
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Jackson himself shared in that sentiment, saying in training camp that he was ready to “get back to the old me.”
The franchise is still waiting for that to happen.
Another year in coordinator Jack Del Rio’s system doesn’t seem to have made much of a difference for Jackson, who has once again contributed to mind-boggling breakdowns versus the pass when he’s on the field.
The flags have also continued to fly his way. In the squad’s loss at Dallas, he was whistled for three separate infractions, including two pass interferences that gave the Cowboys 38 and 27 free yards respectively.
The nadir of Jackson’s time with the Commanders, though, came this past Sunday in a contest with the Titans, when he was removed from the action in the early going.
Afterward, a visibly frustrated Jackson told the media that the bulging disc prevented him from competing at an acceptable level, but Rivera declined to identify that as the primary reason for Jackson’s exit both in a postgame press conference and in a presser the following day.
“We pulled him and we will leave it at that,” Rivera said Monday.
Benjamin St-Juste, who was exceptional replacing Jackson in the Washington-Philly tilt, will likely bump to the outside corner spot this Thursday at Soldier Field. Rachad Wildgoose should then see increased snaps like he did once Jackson was excused from the date with Tennessee.
Only Carson Wentz’s cap hit in 2022 is larger than Jackson’s, so in theory, Jackson ought to be one of the team’s cornerstone pieces.
Unfortunately, his transition from Cincinnati started poorly and is currently showing little signs of improving thanks to durability problems, extremely underwhelming performance and, perhaps, mismanagement by the staff, which has often deployed him in zone schemes despite his man-to-man prowess.
Because of the Rivera-Carson Wentz storyline that popped this week, Jackson’s latest downturn has been overlooked. Now that he won’t even be in Chicago, his decline in relevance will gain speed — and it may not stop anytime soon.
