William Jackson III spent the first five years of his NFL career with the Cincinnati Bengals, and it does not sound like the defensive back has many fond memories from that time period in his life.
Jackson signed a three-year, $40 million deal with the Washington Football Team earlier this month. During an appearance on “BMitch and Finlay” on 106.7 The Fan in Washington this week, Jackson said he won’t miss the fans in Cincinnati. He also called it a “blessing” that he is leaving the Bengals.
“Cincinnati, they got some crude fans, man. Misery loves company,” Jackson said, as transcribed by Sports Illustrated’s AllBengals site. “Them dudes, they wonder why they’re not winning. I’m happy I’m out of that thing man. It’s a blessing to get away and I wish them the best, but Washington let’s go from here.”
Jackson was taken with the 24th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. The Bengals won just 25 games in his five seasons with the team and six over the last two years, so it’s no surprise he was ready to leave. It should also be noted that Cincinnati didn’t make a real effort to bring Jackson back and instead chose to sign cornerbacks Mike Hilton and Chidobe Awuzie.
The future looks bright in Cincy with Joe Burrow at quarterback. However, the Bengals have not won a playoff game since 1990. Plenty of players have had negative experiences with the team since then. It sounds like Jackson is one of them.
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