Kareem Jackson claimed off waivers by the Houston Texans

On Tuesday it was announced that the Houston Texans claimed Kareem Jackson off waivers.

Jackson was waived by the Denver Broncos on Monday, after his 4-game suspension finished, and not being activated for the game on Christmas Eve against the New England Patriots. Denver wanted to sign Kareem back to the practice squad if he cleared waivers, but Houston ended up claiming him.

KJack gets back where his NFL career started. He was a first-round pick (20th overall) by the Houston Texans in the 2010 NFL Draft, and now he is not only returning to Houston after five seasons with the Denver Broncos, but reuniting with his former teammate (2010-2011), and now Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans.

Jackson was signed by the Broncos to a three-year, $33 million deal during the 2019 NFL free agency. After his second season with Denver, the Broncos declined his contract option but re-signed him to a cheaper one-year deal. Finally, the Broncos signed him to one-year deals in back-to-back years. He spent five seasons total with Denver.

During his five-year span with the Denver Broncos, Kareem Jackson had the following stats.

• 69 games - 69 starts
• 4,441 snaps
• 393 tackles (268 solo)
• 8 tackles for loss
• 1 sack
• 1 forced fumble, 4 fumble recoveries
• 1 fumble return touchdown
• 24 pass breakups
• 6 interceptions
• 1x AFC Defensive Player of the Week (Week 14, 2019 - at Texans)

Jackson instantly became Denver's starting strong safety when he signed back in 2019. During his five years with the Broncos, Kareem had his career-high in fumble recoveries (2 in 2020), and his career-high in total tackles (94 in 2022), and he was suspended for eight games (2 in 2019 due to a DUI arrest, 6 in 2023 due to illegal hits).

Earlier in March 2023, he was signed to what many thought to be a reduced role on the field, but a bigger veteran role for the young guys in the secondary, but he ended up starting due to Caden Sterns suffering a torn patellar injury in Week 1 against the Raiders, and PJ Locke starting the season on the physically unable to perform list (missed the first four games).

Kareem was a huge veteran piece in Denver's secondary, a true leader on and off the field and a defensive captain.

Thank you for everything KJack! A Mile High Salute to you, good luck in H-Town!