By Jordan Long
NFL free agency officially opens tomorrow. Starting yesterday, many free agents have already agreed to contracts but those won’t be authorized until tomorrow after 2:00 PM (MT) which is when free agency officially begins. The Denver Broncos have been busy so far. They have their replacement for Darian Stewart at the safety position.
The Broncos released safety Darian Stewart on March 6th. Denver saved around $3.568 million this year and $5.5 million next year in cap space. Denver was looking for a safety in free agency to help the secondary. Denver decided to sign Kareem Jackson.
Jackson agreed to a 3-year, $33 million deal to come to the Mile High City. He spent his first 9 seasons in the NFL with the Texans. Jackson played well in his time with the Texans. He proved he can play in coverage, tackle, and come on safety blitzes. When Jackson is defending passes, he can tip them and intercept them totaling 16 interceptions. He will also bat the ball away from being caught with 87 passes defended. Jackson is able to knock the ball out of a runners hands for turnovers forcing 5 fumbles and recovering 3 of them.
Denver was looking for a safety who can tackle. They are the last line of defense. Jackson tackles an opponent preventing them from gaining large chunks of yards. In his career he has 559 tackles. When it comes to blitzing the quarterback, Jackson times his rush and takes down the quarterback with 2 sacks.
The only downside with Jackson is his age. He will be 31 once the season starts, the same age as Stewart. At that point Denver might as well have kept Stewart since they are the same age. Denver isn’t younger at the position. They are overpaying for Jackson at $11 million per year.
The Broncos are still looking to improve the team. General Manager John Elway has holes to fill on offense and defense. The Broncos will do that in free agency and the draft. Elway hopes his moves help Denver win more games in 2019. ff
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