There isn’t much in spring practices that gives a glimpse of how the Bears’ upcoming season will go, but the sight of safety Eddie Jackson planting, darting and racing around the secondary at full speed the last couple weeks has been meaningful.
The Bears are betting on a lot of wild cards this season, and Jackson’s ability to bounce back from a Lisfranc injury in his left foot is one of the most pivotal. The fact that he already has been zipping through reps as though it never happened is promising for his comeback.
Jackson ended last season with his foot in a protective boot and needed a scooter to get around the locker room when he’d visit his teammates after games. After two months of being immobilized and all the rehab, he has a renewed enthusiasm for work.
“It just makes you grateful for the little things: being able to go out there and practice, being able to go out there and run and give it all you’ve got,” he said Tuesday.
That’s good timing for him and the Bears. They’re banking on him as a key part of their secondary, which could be the strongest unit on the roster, and he’s out to show he’s far from winding down as he approaches 30.
“These years, we can’t waste them,” he said. “I’ve got to go out there and play the best ball that I can and go out there and make plays. We’ve got a young team... those guys, they look at me.
“It’s Year 7 for me, so no more years to waste.”
Jackson presented general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus one of their most intriguing decisions when they took over last year: Was he one of the remnants of the Ryan Pace era worth saving?
He was 28 at the time and three seasons removed from being an All-Pro and, amid Poles’ massive financial cleanup, carried the team’s second-biggest salary-cap hit at $15.1 million. He’s the second-priciest player on the roster again this season at $17.1 million and would make $18.1 million in 2024, the end of his deal.
Poles could’ve done a lot with that cap space, but at his best, Jackson is a player who makes people think of Hall of Famer Ed Reed.
And that’s what the Bears got last season until he got hurt. Jackson was motivated to prove himself anew — “I could really start over and build from there,” he said — and the Bears freed him up to play his style of safety by drafting a complementary piece in Jaquan Brisker.
They counted on Jackson to reassert himself as a game wrecker, and he did with three interceptions and a forced fumble in the first four games. He added another interception in Week 8 against the Cowboys to give him four — his second-best season in that department — before the Bears’ defense disintegrated and he went on Injured Reserve in November. He led the team in tackles at the time and was on track for a Pro Bowl selection.
The arrival of Eberflus and defensive coordinator Alan Williams was refreshing for Jackson, and he was a revelation for them before the injury. It’s easy to sell Eberflus’ hardnosed vision to rookies and journeymen, but it helped tremendously that someone with Jackson’s stature bought into it emphatically so early. It’s clear he has become one of Eberflus’ favorite players.
“He works his tail off,” Eberflus said. “He’s worked his way back into position from that injury, and it wasn’t easy. His love of football helped him to do it.
“The way he works and the experience he brings to the table for our entire secondary — he’s that one guy in there that has that experience and brings that knowhow. We really love where Eddie is right now.”
He’s essential, and continues to be one of the team’s greatest success stories.
