Eddie Jackson’s Departure Sign?
Eddie Jackson’s cryptic tweets appeared to hint that he had learnt something about his fate during an offseason in which many believe he would be a cap casualty.
Eddie Jackson’s mysterious comment appears to validate what everyone has been assuming since the 2023 season.
He has learnt that he will be a Bears cap cut victim.
Jackson shared a dark screen on Instagram with the phrase “All Love Chi Town..”
He also sent out a tweet saying, “New Beginnings.”
Jackson’s play at safety suffered in a number of ways last year, but the primary reason for his departure is his compensation. In 2021, he signed a four-year contract deal for $58 million.
If Jackson is released before June 1, the Bears save $12.56 million in cap space for the last year of his deal, but lose $5.58 million in dead cap space. If they give him a post-June 1 designation, he will save $14.15 million in cap space while costing them only $3.99 million in dead cap.
So it seems more possible that he will be categorised as a post-June 1 cut.
Overthecap.com projects the Bears will have $34.7 million in effective cap space, ranking seventh. If they reduce Jackson, it would significantly enhance their finances.
Another player they likely would looke to get off of their payroll is guard/center Cody Whitehair. By the end of the season, Whitehair had been benched. He doesn’t give them as much cap relief but some. His departure is reported by Overthecap.com at $9.15 million in cap savings but $4.1 million in deadcap. If cut with a post-June 1 or simply done June 1, the savings is $10.25 million and $3 million in deadcap.
Jackson enjoyed a rebound season in 2022 despite playing in a new scheme. He had four interceptions in 12 games and was in position to make the Pro Bowl in voting for the first time since he went back-to-back in 2018 and 2019. His passer rating against when targeted was a very strong 66.4, per Sportradar.
Then Jackson, who is 30, suffered a season-ending foot injury.
This past season it went bad for him from Week 2 when he suffered another foot injury. Jackson missed the same number of games, five, and had one interception.
Last season, his passer rating against rose to 120.6, the second-worst of his career. According to Sportradar, he missed eight of 45 tackle attempts, for a 17.8 percent rate. It was the greatest missed tackle % in his career.
When GM Ryan Poles addressed his status following the season, it did not come off as a vote of confidence.
“Yeah, I know dinged up a little bit there, but I thought where his impact is is really with (Jaquan) Brisker and the communication on the back end,” Poles told reporters. “When Eddie was in,
You could tell Brisker was really comfortable.
“Really that whole group, he really impacts the communication, and you could see that.”
Effective communication is crucial, but it cannot justify keeping a 30-year-old player who will cost the organisation over $10 million in salary cap space.If Jackson is cut due to the salary cap, the team will need another safety. Seventh-round selection Elijah Hicks has been a fill-in the past two seasons, but the Bears are likely to seek to the draft or free agency to provide aid or a replacement at a key position.
Leave a Reply