After a tough loss in which he was benched, William Jackson III implied his back injury was the driving force behind the demotion. The Washington Commanders cornerback had already missed one game of the season weeks earlier because of the ailment, and following Sunday’s defeat, Jackson said he knew he “couldn’t go no more.” He was replaced near the end of the first quarter.
Presented with Jackson’s interpretation of events, his coach didn’t exactly have his back.
“Well, we pulled him,” coach Ron Rivera said, “and we will leave it at that.”
Rivera’s benching of Jackson is notable for a few reasons — namely that the coach sat the team’s highest-paid defender to shake up a defense routinely giving up big plays. With Jackson out, the Commanders moved slot corner Benjamin St-Juste to the outside and played Rachad Wildgoose on the inside — a change that seemed to help.
But the swap also appeared to be an admission that Jackson — who was ruled out for Thursday’s game in Chicago with a back injury — hasn’t lived up to the three-year, $40.5 million deal he signed in 2021. For Rivera, it’s a move that is telling and fraught with long-term implications if the season’s downward spiral continues.
After all, Rivera has a strong say over the team’s personnel. And he brought in Jackson to replace Ronald Darby, a cornerback who left the same offseason to sign a three-year, $30 million deal with the Denver Broncos.
On Tuesday, Rivera said Jackson has to get healthy. But he also made apparent the veteran needed to improve in the “communication aspect,” telling reporters that Jackson has to become a “little more animated” in relaying pre-snap checks.
“The biggest thing is again, just understanding your connections you’re working with and how you work with your teammates,” Rivera said. “It is a little bit different from what he had done previously.”
Those differences likely are a significant reason why Jackson’s signing hasn’t panned out. Over four seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, Jackson thrived in a man-to-man scheme in which he was even called to travel with opposing top receivers no matter where they lined up on the field. But Washington’s primarily zone-based scheme was a rough adjustment for the 29-year-old — who said he didn’t become comfortable within it until Week 10 of last year.
In retrospect, Jackson may never have been entirely comfortable. At the very least, he wasn’t the same type of player. Last season, according to Pro Football Focus, the cornerback allowed a 58.5% reception percentage on 53 targets — an increase over his 52.5% reception percentage in Cincinnati. In 2022, Jackson has allowed a staggering 16 catches on 19 targets for a career-worst 84.2% reception percentage.
Penalties have also been a concern. In two seasons with the Commanders, Jackson has been flagged 11 times — and his 75 penalty yards this season are the third-most in the NFL. A year ago, Jackson ranked fourth with 104 penalty yards.
During Jackson’s first training camp with the Commanders, Rivera shrugged off questions about the cornerback’s fit — telling reporters his arrival would allow Washington to play more man-to-man. He also made clear he viewed Jackson as a top option in free agency: “When a guy like William Jackson is sitting there and we’re going, ‘God, this is a guy we got to target, let’s do that,’” Rivera said.
But Washington fans had seen this kind of signing go bad before. The Commanders weren’t that far removed from the days of Josh Norman — the star cornerback who signed a five-year, $75 million contract in 2016, only to struggle in a new scheme. Norman lasted four seasons, but was benched in 2019 and cut the following offseason.
If the team wants to cut Jackson in the offseason, it can save $6.8 million but Jackson will still account for $9 million on the books because of the cornerback’s already-paid signing bonus.
“He’s definitely been dealing with his back, but Will-O is a competitor, man,” cornerback Kendall Fuller said. “I know what it takes to play [defensive back] and I’ve seen him from over the years at a distance. He has what it takes.”
In his role overseeing personnel, Rivera has had a mixed track record. The coach hit on several bargain-bin signings — running back J.D. McKissic and tight end Logan Thomas — that helped fuel Washington’s late-season rally to win the NFC East in Rivera’s first year at 7-9.
But Rivera has missed on some of his larger transactions. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick’s one-year, $10 million contract was fine on the surface last year, but the veteran provided little impact as he suffered a season-ending hip injury in Washington’s first game. And while the jury is still out on the Carson Wentz deal, the early returns haven’t been super encouraging considering Rivera gave up two draft picks to the Colts and agreed to take on Wentz’s full $28.3 million cap hit this season.
And there’s Jackson — who may not even be in the lineup once his back is fully healed. Rivera said Tuesday that he liked what St-Juste and Wildgoose provided. “I thought they looked good,” Rivera said.
The improved secondary appeared to make a difference for the defensive line, which finished the game with a season-high five sacks. Four of those came after Jackson’s exit.
“That’d be a question for them,” defensive tackle Jonathan Allen said when asked what he thought the difference was for improved play in the secondary. “But I love what I saw.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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