The marriage between the Washington Commanders and cornerback William Jackson III appears to have turned sour. According to an NFL Network report, Jackson wants a new NFL home and prefers to play in a new defensive scheme that better suits him.
Washington is active in trade talks to grant Jackson his request.
The Commanders pulled Jackson in the first half of the team’s Week 5 loss to the Tennessee Titans. After the game, a visibly frustrated Jackson said a back injury attributed to his benching. However, Commanders head coach Ron Rivera said, “We just decided to make a change.”
Jackson was listed on the Commanders’ injury report Monday as a full participant, but his status changed to limited on Tuesday. He was ruled out of Thursday night’s game against the Chicago Bears and did not travel with the team to Chicago.
Jackson, 30, signed a three-year, $40.5 million contract with the Commanders in 2021 after four seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. Yet, the fit didn’t seem right from the onset in Washington.
Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio has installed a zone-based scheme. However, Jackson made a name for himself as a man-coverage cornerback. His struggles to adjust have been glaring.
This season, Jackson has allowed a 70.8% completion rate by opposing quarterbacks with a 121.9 passer rating.
In Week 4, Jackson was penalized three times for a whopping 70 yards against the Dallas Cowboys. He also was credited with allowing a touchdown to Dallas wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in which Jackson said he expected safety help inside.
The NFL’s trade deadline is Nov. 1. According to the report, Jackson may get traded long before.
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