NFL lessens ban for Broncos’ Jackson on appeal

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Denver Broncos safety Kareem Jackson‘s suspension for violation of unnecessary roughness rules has been reduced from four games to two games, the NFL said Tuesday.

NFL spokesman Michael Signora announced the reduction after Jackson’s meeting with appeals hearing officer Derrick Brooks, who was jointly appointed by the NFL and NFL Players Association.

Jackson will now be eligible to return to the active roster on Nov. 14 — the day after the team’s game against the Buffalo Bills. He will miss Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs as well as the game against the Bills, which comes following the bye week.

Jackson was ejected from Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers for his sideline hit on Packers tight end Luke Musgrave in the fourth quarter. It was the second time this season that Jackson was ejected for an illegal hit.

“On the play in question, you delivered a forceful blow to the head/neck area of a defenseless receiver, when you had the time and space to avoid such contact,” vice president of football operations Jon Runyan wrote in a letter to Jackson. “You could have made contact with your opponent within the rules, yet you chose not to.”

Runyan noted in the letter that Jackson has had multiple instances of violations of player-safety rules.

Entering Sunday’s game, Jackson had been fined four times this season for unnecessary roughness — for a total of $89,670. He was also ejected from a Week 2 loss to the Washington Commanders after a hit on tight end Logan Thomas.

“I just know where he’s at as a player; we’ll keep working on that,” coach Sean Payton said Monday. “I know he’ll keep working on it. He’s someone that’s smart and really wants to do the right thing. It’s one of the toughest parts of our game for the officials, for the players, for all of us involved of getting that to where it’s clear and easy. Sometimes, it’s just not.”

The original four-game suspension was the longest punishment for violating player-safety rules since 2019, when Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was suspended indefinitely for hitting Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph with Rudolph’s helmet. Garrett eventually missed six games before he was reinstated.

Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict was also suspended for the remainder of the 2019 season – 12 games at the time – for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle.

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