Eddie Jackson was having one of his best seasons in 2022. Then an awkward moment on the notorious MetLife Stadium turf in New York resulted in a season-ending Lisfranc injury in his foot. It was a brutal blow for the Chicago Bears defense. Jackson was the last member of the unit still playing great football. Losing him robbed them of yet another veteran presence on the field. The great fear moving forward is whether he’ll be the same after such an injury. Lisfrancs have ended careers in the past.
Thankfully Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune delivered some good news. While the injury is still bad enough to end his season, it appears Jackson will avoid major surgery to correct it.
Here is some good news for Jackson, who visited teammates in the locker room after Sunday’s game wearing a walking boot and using a scooter: A source said he won’t require surgery.
Not all Lisfranc injuries lead to the operating room. Kreutz had a “stable” Lisfranc injury and did not need surgery, which of course is preferable.
Olin Kreutz understands what is ahead for Jackson. There will be no cutting corners. He’s about to go through some hard work to regain his old form. However, if he surrounds himself with the right people, there is a strong likelihood he will be ready for the 2023 season with no issues.
“Even without the surgery, the rehabilitation was brutal,” Kreutz said. “I couldn’t have played in the Super Bowl if we would have won that game.
“Eddie will recover. He has tons of time. It’s so different now. Rehab is so much better than it was before. If Eddie finds someone good and he attacks it, he’ll be back to 100%.”
Getting Eddie Jackson back would make life easier.
The last thing the Bears need is yet another key roster spot to fill. They already have enough problems to fix on defense, starting with the defensive line. Linebacker and cornerback could also use work. A healthy Jackson and ascending 2nd round pick Jaquan Brisker looked like an enticing tandem moving forward. This isn’t uncharted territory for the former All-Pro. Don’t forget he arrived in the NFL recovering from a broken leg. Overcoming injuries is something he’s proven he can do. This is no different.
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It will be interesting to see what kind of defense he returns to. If the Bears can provide him with a better pass rush, Eddie Jackson should be able to resume picking off passes as he’s done most of his career. This development is a nice silver lining in a season where good news has been hard to come by. If nothing else, his absence may allow others to step up to fill the void left behind. Jack Sanborn already did that after Roquan Smith left. In a season about evaluation, this allows the Bears to experiment.
Safety needs to be on the list of positions for the draft in one of the up coming 2 seasons anyways. The Bears should’ve flipped him at the deadline and got whatever they could’ve netted for Jackson. Smart money says Jackson isn’t full speed for next season and he keeps cashing those checks while mailing in games.
I agree. Every time I see Jackson throw his shoulder into someone who then bounces off him and gains extra yards or scores as a result, I cringe. For all the talk about fundamentals, this guy too often forgets to hit a guy low and wrap him up. He’s always been below average in tackling, and for this reason he’s overpaid.
Don’t hate… but I think EJ misses to many tackles. (like last season… those misses were inexcusable)
this season… he still misses tackles but was better at ball hawking.
will he recover, fully? (does he still have the same desire) I dunno.
he’s not a a** in the media so we could do worse… I’m just saying is he ‘critical’ to return? (if he wants a HUGE new contract… meh)