The Washington Football Team is hiring former Bengals chant William Jackson III, by Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter) Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets which will be a three-year pact, $ 42 million, with $ 26 million in guaranteed money.
This puts Jackson in the top 10 of the cornerback market in terms of AAV. The player of the first round of 2016 proved to be a strong corner corner in his early years in the league and, although he has not yet made a Pro Bowl, he may receive those honors in the near future. He lost his entire rookie campaign due to an injury and started only five games in his second professional season, but from 2017-20, he had 41 defended passes and three choices, and qualified as the 20 best CB in Pro Football Focus 121 heats) last season.
It will serve as a worthy substitute for Ronald Darby – who agreed to a free agent agreement with the Broncos yesterday – and will partner with Kendall Fuller to provide the WFT with a strong initial tandem in the cornerback position. The club was excellent against the pass last season, so maintaining a quality 1-2 stroke at the limits was a key part of their fight for appearances in the consecutive playoffs.
Although Jackson had previously expressed a desire to stay in Cincinnati for a long term, the writing was on the wall when the club agreed to sign Mike Hilton and Chidobe Awuzie earlier today. Jackson is probably better than both players, but Hilton and Awuzie’s combined AAV is almost the same as Jackson’s, so Bengals saw an opportunity to acquire two quality starters for the price of one.
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