Broncos' Kareem Jackson Has NFL Suspension Reduced to 2 Games
There's good news and bad news in Denver Broncos safety Kareem Jackson's appeal of his NFL suspension.
The good news: Jackson had his ban reduced from four to two games after pleading his case to hearing officer Derrick Brooks, the league announced Tuesday.
The bad news: Jackson still will miss Denver's upcoming contests against Kansas City and Buffalo, and — because there's a bye sandwiched in-between — is not eligible to return until Week 11 versus Minnesota.
Jackson's suspension fell under the NFL's unnecessary roughness rules and stemmed from a questionable hit on Packers tight end Luke Musgrave during Sunday's win over Green Bay. The 14th-year veteran was disqualified for the remainder of the tilt and his discipline was imposed Monday.
"On the play in question, you delivered a forceful blow to the head/neck area of a defenseless receiver, when you had the time and space to avoid such contact," NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan wrote in a letter to Jackson. "You could have made contact with your opponent within the rules, yet you chose not to."
Jackson, who's drawn a head-hunting reputation due to a physical style of play, had been fined on four separate occasions for illegal hits — totaling nearly $90,000 — prior to his Week 7 ejection. Factoring in the two surrendered game checks, Jackson has lost $279,444 of his $2.515 million salary for the 2023 campaign.
"I’ve sat on this committee—the [NFL] Competition Committee—for a number of years. We’re constantly trying to work with and educate the players," Broncos head coach Sean Payton said Monday. "There are times when pad levels drop. I know Kareem, I know his heart and I know the way he’s played. I think it’s an easy narrative to say, ‘Well he’s just an old-timer playing in a new-timer’s game.’ When you see the play, his head is removed from the forceable contact. Defenseless is a little bit more of an issue relative to the position the receiver’s in. I just know where he’s at as a player. We’ll keep working on that. I know he’ll keep working on it. He’s someone that’s smart and really wants to do the right thing. It’s one of the toughest parts of our game for the officials, for the players, for all of us involved of getting that to where it’s clear and easy. Sometimes, it’s just not.”
With Jackson sidelined, Denver will turn to P.J. Locke as its starting safety opposite Justin Simmons. Locke was instrumental against the Packers, notching his first career interception to seal the club's 19-17 conquest.
"It’s a next-man mentality and I look at it as no drop off," Locke said after the game. "Somebody goes down, you can have the mindset that I don’t have much reps or anything like that. You just have to go in there and stay engaged and make plays.”
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