During his initial three NFL seasons, safety Eddie Jackson showcased his prowess with 10 interceptions, five fumble recoveries, and five touchdowns. Garnering accolades, he earned first-team All-Pro honors in his sophomore year and continued his success with a Pro Bowl selection in his third season.
With one year left on his rookie contract, the Chicago Bears secured Jackson’s future by signing him to a lucrative $58.4 million extension, ensuring his presence with the team until the 2024 season.
On Thursday, the Bears made a surprising move by releasing safety Eddie Jackson, despite one year remaining on his contract, resulting in significant salary-cap savings of $12.56 million for 2024.
This decision renders Jackson an unrestricted free agent, enabling him to immediately explore options with any NFL team.
Following his contract extension, Chicago altered Jackson’s role in the secondary, deploying him predominantly as a strong safety rather than at free safety, where he previously excelled. This shift coincided with a decline in interceptions, with Jackson failing to intercept a pass in the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
However, a positional change back to free safety in 2022, alongside the acquisition of safety Jaquan Brisker, saw Jackson’s interception tally rebound to four, despite missing five games due to injury.
In the 2023 season, Jackson’s playing time was limited by injuries, resulting in a career-low 37 tackles over 645 defensive snaps. This marked a stark contrast to his earlier seasons with the Bears, where he averaged 70.3 tackles and 927.5 defensive snaps per season since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Additionally, the Bears parted ways with offensive lineman Cody Whitehair on the same day, who had started 118 games since being drafted in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
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