Former Cincinnati Bengals cornerback William Jackson has reached an agreement with the Washington Football Team on a three-year $ 42 million deal, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Jackson, 28, entered 2020 with a lot to prove after the Bengals picked up his fifth-year option, and he responded by arguing for a lucrative new deal with a bounce-back season.
The 2016 first-round pick had 11 pass deflections, eight more than his 2019 total, and had a 57.9% completion rate when he was the closest defender, according to NFL Next Gen. When Jackson faced receivers at the outside of the formation, his numbers were even stronger. As the closest defender in those situations, his allowable completion rate dropped to 56.1%.
Jackson had his breakout season in 2017 when, according to NFL Next Gen, he allowed 10 catches on 41 goals with no touchdowns, an interception and 13 pass deviations when he was the closest defender against outside receivers.
He missed his entire rookie season with a ruptured pectoral muscle after being selected with the 24th overall pick. In his four seasons of action since then, Jackson had 150 tackles, 3 interceptions, a sack, 41 defensive passes and a defensive touchdown.
Ben Baby from ESPN contributed to this report.