The National Football League (NFL) has handed down a four-game suspension to Kareem Jackson, a safety for the Denver Broncos, due to his repeated violations of unnecessary roughness rules. Sources indicate that Jackson is currently appealing the suspension. If the suspension is upheld, Jackson stands to lose $558,889 in salary.
Jackson’s suspension stems from an incident during Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers, where he was ejected for a hit on Packers tight end Luke Musgrave. This is the second time this season that Jackson has been ejected for an illegal hit.
According to Jon Runyan, the vice president of football operations, Jackson had the opportunity to avoid the hit, but instead chose to deliver a forceful blow to the head/neck area of a defenseless receiver. Runyan’s letter to Jackson stated that he could have made contact within the rules, but deliberately chose not to, despite having the time and space to do so.
Runyan also highlighted that this is not the first time Jackson has violated player-safety rules, as he has already been fined four times this season for unnecessary roughness, totaling $89,670 in fines.
This is not the first time Jackson has faced ejection from a game. In Week 2, he was also ejected for a hit on Washington Commanders’ tight end Logan Thomas.
If Jackson’s suspension is upheld, he will miss games against the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, and Cleveland Browns. He will be eligible to return to the Broncos’ active roster on Monday, November 27.
The hit that led to Jackson’s ejection on Sunday occurred when Luke Musgrave caught an 18-yard pass and was tackled by linebacker Alex Singleton. Jackson arrived and delivered a hit that resulted in his ejection. Despite some Broncos players arguing that Jackson led with his shoulder and made contact below the head and neck area, the officials deemed it an illegal hit.
Before the suspension was announced, Broncos coach Sean Payton defended Jackson, stating that he believes Jackson’s actions were not intentional and that the rules surrounding player safety can often be unclear and difficult to enforce.
It is worth noting that Jackson’s four-game suspension is the longest punishment for violating player-safety rules since 2019 when Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was suspended indefinitely for hitting Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mason Rudolph with a helmet. In 2019, Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict was also suspended for the remainder of the season (12 games) for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Colts tight end Jack Doyle.
ESPN’s Jeff Legwold contributed to this report.
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