Adoreé Jackson Focused on Fitness for 2021
Heading into the offseason, Adoreé Jackson’s priority is his health.
The Tennessee Titans cornerback spent the majority of the 2020 NFL season sidelined with multiple injuries. He ended the year playing in only three games, starting two of them. So, as he sets his sights on the 2021 campaign, Jackson is focused on being a full strength come Week 1.
“I am making sure that everything is ready to go going into next year so that I am not missing the first 13 weeks of next year,” Jackson said Thursday on SiriusXM Radio. “I am getting my body together and getting my mind right. And I think those are the two things you work on at least for me. That is pretty much what I am working on this offseason.”
In the three games Jackson played, he totaled 12 tackles. He was targeted 16 times and gave up 13 completions, resulting in the highest completion percentage allowed of his career (81.3).
Needless to say, the year was difficult for Jackson. However, he is optimistic about the future and how he will prepare. He is choosing to stay flexible in both his mindset and preparation for what is to come in the next NFL calendar year, he said.
The next NFL season possesses an interesting hurdle for Jackson, coming off of an injury-plagued 2020 season. The league decided to add an addition seventeenth game to the schedule. Yet, for the cornerback, he isn’t worried about the injury bug rearing its head again-even with the elongated schedule.
“I don’t really know if we will really notice it,” Jackson said. “Having 17 games, we will figure out how to take care of our bodies better, and do everything differently to be able to play 17 games and go into the playoffs.”
And already in the offseason, the Titans are learning to adapt. The organization lost its offensive coordinator Arthur Smith to the Atlanta Falcons right after the loss to the Baltimore Ravens. It also saw its former defensive coordinator, Dean Pees come out of retirement to join Smith’s staff in Atlanta.
Jackson found it ironic in that fans were talking shots at Smith during the slow start to the 2019 season, but were sad to see him go after this year, he said.
“Both are great guys and great coaches,” Jackson said. “To see (Smith) thrive and do great in the league, and now get this opportunity to be a head coach in this league. And Dean Pees, that speaks for itself. He’s one of the guys that I think of when I think of Super Bowl defensive coordinator.”
“Those are two great pieces that they have in Atlanta. I am excited for them and proud of them as well.”
By the start of next season, things will look different in Tennessee. Jackson, though, wants to do what is necessary to make sure – in his case – he looks like the player he was from 2017-19, when he missed just five games and averaged nearly 60 tackles per season.
“That is just life, you evolve and adapt to the circumstances,” Jackson said. “It’s all about the mindset and how you adapt to the circumstances that are at hand.”
