Ryan Poles addressed the NFL media at the NFL combine. It was the first time since the official start of the offseason, so it was good to get an idea of where he now stands on things. While all of the talks were about the number one overall pick, some other questions were slipped in, including some on Eddie Jackson.
When asked about Eddie Jackson Poles went onto say “Just like everyone else, we’ll get to camp this offseason and see him move around and evaluate everyone on a year-to-year basis. I was excited about the progress he made."
Did Chicago Bears guarantee Eddie Jackson will return next season?
This is not completely breaking news, because most assumed Eddie Jackson would be back next season, but with Poles saying that Jackson will get to camp this offseason, it should affirm they have no plans on moving him at all. They plan on checking back with him when practice starts up.
This is notable when you consider the contract of Jackson. Of course, the team wants to keep him, but at the same time, they could have saved about $8M to move on from him. With his injuries, the fact that he will be 30 this season, and the reality of a new coaching staff, it was not a lock that the team would be keeping him. Now, it feels that way. Eberflus went on to say that he appreciates his growth in tackling, showing that the staff knows he bought into the new regime, and will not be tough to deal with.
This is good news for the Chicago Bears. The cap hit for Jackson may be high this year but they can afford it, and the savings would not really have changed their big picture plans. More than that, it essentially checks secondary off of the list of needs.
With Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon at cornerback and Eddie Jackson paired with Jaquan Brisker in the back end, they do not need much. When you add in that Jaylon Jones, Josh Blackwell, and Kindle Vildor are cornerback depth while Elijah Hicks was drafted last year for safety depth, they have all of the pieces they need.
The plans are to build everywhere else, get Jackson healthy, and see what this secondary can really do. After that, they can view health, age, and contract of Jackson and decide. Next year, he will be back.