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Ex-USC Star Waived by Historic Super Bowl Winning Franchise

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Lorenzo J. Reyna | Last updated May 9, 2025 5:28 PM ET

One USC Trojans star's NFL journey took a roadblock Friday. All due to injury issues.

The San Francisco 49ers waived Drake Jackson, who they drafted in the second round back in 2022. NBC Sports Bay Area reporter Jennifer Lee Chan confirmed Jackson's release as he recovers from a patellar tendon injury.

The 49ers are waiving Jackson with a failed physical designation. Jackson can go into rehab but won't be expected to be cleared to practice for any team until the start of training camp.

Jackson has been bit by the injury bug since his arrival to the NFL. The edge rusher dealt with knee and quadricep ailments early in his career. Jackson also needed surgery on a left patellar injury. He became unable to play in 2023, as he landed on the league's reserve/physically unable to perform list.

The ex-Trojans star became more of a flash player for the five-time Super Bowl winning franchise. He only appeared in 23 total games. The USC standout showed some promise in his rookie season -- tallying three sacks, three tackles behind the line of scrimmage and broke up eight passes by turning to his long wingspan.

Jackson drew praise for his athleticism while playing at USC. He piled 26 career tackles behind the line of scrimmage, including 12 during 2019. The native of Corona, Ca., produced 12.5 sacks across three seasons. Still, Jackson came with flaws entering the league as noted by Lance Zierlein of the NFL Network.

"He's a loose-limbed, restless pass rusher with the activity level to find angles and openings in both his primary and secondary rush. However, he lacks successful counters to do it consistently against stronger tackles," Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft evaluation. "Jackson also lacks the take-on toughness and functional anchor needed to hold up at the point on run downs. He has developmental rush potential, but needs a major upgrade in grit and technique against the run."

Zierlein added how Jackson delivered "excessive arm tackling" during his USC career. Still, his athleticism earned him the 61st selection by the 49ers. The move envisioned Jackson adding extra speed opposite of All-Pro Nick Bosa.

San Francisco, however, showed signs of parting ways with Jackson during the '25 draft. The NFC West franchise took edge rusher Mykel Williams at No. 11. Then grabbed two more defensive linemen in Alfred Collins (43rd overall) and C.J. West (113th).

Jackson sent a message via his Instagram stories back on Monday. He wrote down the caption "Y'all crazy if y'all don’t think I'm wrecking havoc on that field this year.”

Now Jackson will focus on rehab before getting clearance to take part in practice drills.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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