Will Kareem Jackson see a third season with the Denver Broncos?
The veteran safety has been a strong part of the team’s defense for the past two seasons, but the front office will have a decision to make regarding his roster status for 2021. In fact, that goes for both starters at safety.
Justin Simmons is set to get a mega deal after becoming one of the league’s best safeties. If George Paton is smart, he won’t drag those talks on any longer than necessary and a deal will get done. But how will that impact Jackson’s status. Would the team want that much money tied up in two safeties?
Jackson is set to enter the final year of his contract, but cutting him is a decent option and one that must be considered. That move would cost the Broncos $2.8 million in dead money but it would free up $10 million in cap space.
That money could then be used on another free-agent safety or on other free agents entirely. It’s not that Jackson hasn’t played well for the team in his two seasons, but that is a lot of money for a guy on the other side of 30 years old (he’ll be 33 when the season starts).
All of the talk (as per usual) lately has centered around what the Broncos will do at the quarterback position. Will they ride Drew Lock or opt to trade for a veteran such as Deshaun Watson or Matthew Stafford? Or, perhaps even try to pull a shocker and convince the Green Bay Packers to give up Aaron Rodgers?
While that talk is more exciting, what the team does with its top two safeties is going to be one of the biggest storylines to follow this offseason.
The Broncos would still have Will Parks and Trey Marshall for depth at safety and they could look to free agency or the draft to find a suitable replacement for Jackson, should the team decide to move on from him.
Jackson has been a nice player for the team, but $10 million back into the salary cap probably looks even nicer.