Eddie Jackson isn’t exactly operating with much credibility lately. Chicago Bears fans have grown increasingly frustrated with him since the end of last season. His once routine playmaking ability has almost completely vanished. He’s yet to snag an interception since the final game of 2019. Worse still, that drought is helping to shine a bright light on how limited he is in every other facet of the game. Especially tackling.
Going into that matchup against Green Bay, Jackson was credited with five missed tackles this season. That ties him for sixth-most among safeties in the entire NFL. After Sunday, that number likely went up. Once again he was asked to make some key plays in order to limit the damage by the opponent and too often couldn’t get guys on the ground. One attempt on Davante Adams in the 4th quarter summed it all up. After the game, former Bears linebacker Lance Briggs called him out for that.
Great play by Adams here [he was out on the sidelines, not a touchdown] but what was this tackle attempt by Eddie Jackson? horrible. Jackson used to be one of the top safeties in the league.https://t.co/eAkrkFhawW
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 17, 2021
"You have to make that play" – @LanceBriggs to Eddie Jackson pic.twitter.com/i71PgLcSYQ
— Bears Talk (@NBCSBears) October 17, 2021
Subscribe to the BFR podcast and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
That play ended up being crucial.
Green Bay scored shortly after to put the game out of reach. There is no getting around the fact that Jackson has become dangerously close to an outright liability in the secondary. His negatives have begun to outweigh his positives with the tackling issue taking center stage. It appears the safety didn’t take kindly to Briggs’ criticism. He fired back on Twitter after the game, showcasing a tweet from 2011 that detailed the former linebacker and how many tackles he missed.
Here’s the thing, Eddie. Yeah, Briggs missed a lot of tackles in his career too. The problem is he also made more plays. A lot more plays. The guy was a seven-time Pro Bowler. One of the best to ever play his position in Bears history. Calling him out like that isn’t going to win you any additional support in Chicago. Quite the opposite. He deleted the tweet but as everybody knows, once it’s out there people will preserve it.
Eddie Jackson should be thankful for his new contract
If not for that extension and the subsequent restructuring that has happened since? There is a good chance the Bears would be looking to move on from him next offseason. As things stand, they’re likely stuck with him until 2023. That is unless they can find a willing trade partner at some point next summer. Dealing him after June 1st would slap them with just $3.99 million in dead money. Not impossible but not likely.
Nobody should blame GM Ryan Pace for this. At the time, he made the correct decision to extend Eddie Jackson. The safety had eight interceptions in the previous two seasons. He was one of the best ball-hawking players in the league. Nobody could’ve predicted he would crash to earth so spectacularly like this. Sadly, this is what can happen when players get their money.
They lose their edge.
Jackson will argue to the ends of the earth that he is the same player. The evidence says otherwise. Whatever magic he played with his first three years is gone. He’s regressed into becoming just another average safety. That isn’t what the Bears are paying him to be. Briggs is well within his right to point this out. That Jackson doesn’t like it is a personal problem.