Kareem Jackson

At 36 years old, Kareem Jackson has this physical status:

High school career

Jackson attended Westside High School. He mainly played running back and finished 1,436 yards for 256 yards with two receiving touchdowns.

Jackson went from running back to cornerback after high school.

Rivals.com said Jackson was the No. 1 in the United States' top recruit, making him the best in the world. In 2007, there was a 17 prep school study student.

College career

Jackson played in 12 of the Crimson Tide's 13 games as a true freshman. On the season, he was second on the team with three interceptions and fourth with four pass breakups. On the season, Jackson had 66 tackles, good for fifth on the team. He was named Freshman All-American for a second time.

As a sophomore in 2008, Jackson came eighth on the team in tackles, with 44, including 28 solo stops. He had ten pass breakups on the year with just one interception.

Jackson played in all 14 games as a freshman and was fifth on the team with 49 tackles. During the 2009 season, he had one interceptor and missed 13 passes.

Jackson announced on January 15, 2010 that he would forego his senior season and join the NFL Draft.

Professional career

Jackson came from Alabama and completed the entire workout as well as all required drills. He was content with his team's results and decided to only partake in positional drills at Alabama's Pro Day. He was expected to be drafted in either the first or second round after he did well. By NFLDraftScout.com, he was ranked fifth best cornerback and 32nd overall prospect in a deep cornerback draft. He was named as the fourth best cornerback on WalterFootball.com's scouting report. He was also ranked as the fourth best cornerback in the draft, behind Joe Haden, Kyle Wilson, and Devin McCourty.

In the first round (20th overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans drafted Jackson. He was Florida's second cornerback in 2010, behind Florida's Joe Haden (7th overall).

The Houston Texans signed him to a five-year, $13.52 million contract, with $7.36 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $875,500.

Jackson was the starting right cornerback against veteran Glover Quint in his rookie training camp. In the 34–24 victory, Jackson made his professional debut in the Houston Texans' season-opener against the Indianapolis Colts, with four solo tackles and a pass deflection. In the 34–10 loss to the New York Giants, he had five solo tackles and his first career interception off Eli Manning, his first interception off of Eli Manning, returning it for 23 yards on October 10, 2010. In a 35-32 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, Jackson racked up a season-high seven combined tackles. In a 29-23 loss to the San Diego Chargers in Week 9, he made six combined tackles and intercepted Philip Rivers. In a 34-28 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on December 13, 2010, he had a season-high six solo tackles and an assisted tackle. While playing all 16 regular season games, Jackson continued his rookie season with a career-high 71 combined tackles, ten pass deflections, and two interceptions. The Texans were ranked last in the league in passing defense in 6–10. He was ranked 68th (47%) in terms of achievement rating, and PFF gave him a -10.3 in pass coverage. He had an 111.8 percent average QB rating for opposing quarterbacks.

Jackson took part in the 2011 training camp with Johnathan Joseph, Jason Allen, and Brice McCain to keep the starting position. Jackson, the left cornerback, was named by Wade Phillips to begin the regular season opposite Joseph.

Jackson started the Houston Texans' season opener against the Indianapolis Colts, making one tackle as the Texans defeated the Colts 34-7. He was demoted to backup as Jason Allen was introduced to backup this week. Allen provided good coverage, performed well, and finished with a game-sealing interception in a 17-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 4, which Jackson was inactive for. However, he regained his starting position in Week 6. In a 29-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, he finished the game with four solo tackles. In a 30-12 victory over the Cleveland Browns on November 6, 2011, Jackson had season-high six solo tackles as well as a pass deflection. In a 17-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons on December 4, 2011, he had three solo tackles and two pass reflections, intercepted Matt Ryan for his first and only interception of the season. He had 42 combined tackles (37 solo), a forced fumble, an intercept, and six deflected passes in 15 games and 13 starts.

The Houston Texans completed the 2011 season with a 10-6 record and a playoff berth. In a 31–10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Wildcard Game, Jackson appeared in his first career postseason game and made four combined tackles. In a 20-13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional playoff game, he had four solo tackles and deflected a pass. Jackson received a PFF rating of 9.5 and was ranked 67th (55%) in terms of achievement in ranked corners by Football Outsiders, placing him 67th (45%) in success rates.

Jackson, along with Johnathan Joseph, was named as the starting cornerback in the 2012 season. He started the Houston Texans' season opener against the Miami Dolphins with five combined tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted Ryan Tannehill's pass after it was tipped by J. Watt. In a 31-25 victory over the Denver Broncos on September 23, 2012, Jackson had season-high seven solo tackles, an assisted tackle, and a deflected pass. As the Texans defeated the Titans 38–14, Matt Hasselbeck led the Tennessee Titans' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to intercepted two touchdowns, deflected two passes, and intercepted Tennessee Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck's intercepted Tennessee's first career touchdown.

In a 23–17 loss over the New York Jets, he had one tackle and intercepted a Mark Sanchez pass. It was Jackson's first time with back-to-back interceptions in two straight games. In a 28-16 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on December 30, 2012, he had a season-high eight combined tackles and a pass deflection. He finished the 2012 regular season with 53 combined tackles (47 solo), a career-high four interceptions, a career-high four interceptions, and a touchdown in 16 games and 15 starts. With a 12-4 record, the Houston Texans came first in the AFC South, but they were suspended from the playoffs after losing to the New England Patriots in the Divisional round.

In 2012, Jackson had his best statistical season of his career. In comparison, Johnathan Joseph was voted to the Pro Bowl, but he had fewer combined tackles than Jackson and two interceptions to Jackson's four. According to Pro Football Focus, he was ranked as the seventh best cornerback in coverage rating (+13.4). He was ranked twelfth in overall success rate (59%) out of all qualified cornerbacks and the QB's rating for opposing quarterbacks attacking Jackson was averaging of 66.66.

In 2013, Jackson and Joseph were back in Houston as the Houston Texans' starting cornerback pair. In the Texans' season-opening 31–28 victory over the San Diego Chargers, he started the season off with three solo tackles. In a 30–24 victory over the Tennessee Titans, Jackson made six solo tackles and made two pass deflections. After hitting Titans receiver Kendall Wright, who was deemed a defenseless receiver at the time, Jackson was chastised for unnecessary roughness in the third quarter. Wright was fined $32,000 for the assault, which was described as "dirty," three days later, and the NFL confirmed him with a concussion. He missed Weeks 11 and 12, but he didn't recover after suffering a fractured rib that limited his ability to play.

In 14 starts and 14 games, Jackson had 56 combined tackles and nine deflected passes. PFF gave him a 4.3 pass coverage rating and a 106.1 QBR. According to Football Outsiders, he was ranked 81st (42%) in success rate. With a 2-14 record and head coach Gary Kubiak fired in Week 15, the Houston Texans completed the season.

In the 17-6 victory, Jackson opened the 2014 season-opener against the Washington Redskins and made eight combined Tackles. In a 30–14 victory over the Oakland Raiders, Jackson made two solo tackles and intercepted rookie quarterback Derek Carr, intercepted it for 65 yards. During a 20–17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, he posted a season-high nine combined tackles on October 5, 2014. As the Texans defeated the Ravens 25-13, Jackson made one solo tackle and intercepted Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco twice. With 56 combined (46 solo), nine pass deflections, and three interceptions in 13 games and 13 starts, he completed his first season under new head coach Bill O'Brien.

During the 2015 off-season, Jackson became one of the top free agent cornerbacks.

The Houston Texans announced Jackson on March 7, 2015, a four-year, $34 million contract with $20 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $9 million.

He faced rookie draft pick Kevin Johnson in training camp, but Jackson and Joseph were able to keep their starting positions into the regular season. In a 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, he opened the Texans' season-opener and made six solo tackles. In the second quarter of the 31-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on October 18, 2015, Jackson made one solo tackle and left the team dead, but did not return. Due to an ankle injury, he missed the next four games. In a 24-6 victory, Drew Brees intercepted New Orleans Saint's quarterback Drew Brees on November 29, 2015, who made his return and made four combined tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted him. In a 27-6 loss to the New England Patriots, Jackson recorded a season-high nine solo tackles and a pass deflection. On January 3, the United States began on January 3. When the Texans defeated the Jaguars 30-6, he made three solo tackles, intercepted Blake Bortles, and returned it for a 27-yard game-sealing touchdown. He had 58 combined tackles (52 solo), six pass deflections, two interceptions, and a touchdown in ten games.

The Houston Texans finished first in the AFC South with a 9-7 record and finished first. Jackson was forced to miss a pass after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 30–0 in the AFC Wildcard game.

He and Johnathan Joseph continued to play in the 2016 regular season, as well as Johnathan Joseph. In a 23–14 victory over the Chicago Bears, Jackson started the season-opener and made five combined tackles. Due to a hamstring strain, he missed Weeks 5 and 6. In a 24–21 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jackson had six solo tackles and intercepted Blake Bortles, who had it for a 42-yard touchdown on November 13, 2016. This was his second straight season with an interception for a touchdown off the coast of Bortles. Jackson won by 22–17 over a week 14 match against the Indianapolis Colts for a season-high eight combined tackles. He had 62 total tackles (51 solo), four pass deflections, an intercept, and a touchdown in 13 starts and 14 games during the season.

Jackson made four combined tackles in a 27-14 Wild Card Round victory over the Oakland Raiders after finishing first in the AFC South with a 9–7 record.

Jackson met with a lot of opposition from Kevin Johnson during training camp. He was eventually surpassed on the depth chart and was named the Houston Texans' slot cornerback in the regular season, behind Kevin Johnson and Johnathan Joseph, who were both born outside cornerbacks.

Jackson had six combined tackles during the Houston Texans' 7–29 season-opening loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. On September 14, Jackson sparked rookie John Ross to fumble, and teammate Jadeveon Clowney recovered and returned for 49 yards to start the Texans' offense on a field goal scoring drive. Since Johnathan Joseph was sidelined for a shoulder injury in the second quarter, and Kevin Johnson was thrown into the starting lineup after suffering a MCL sprain, he was thrown into the starting lineup. Jackson had seven combined tackles on the Bengals and was suspended for the first time on rookie Andy Dalton. In the absence of Kevin Johnson, who was out for four weeks, Jackson remained a starter.

Jackson will be moved to free safety full time in the offseason, as a result of coordinated teamwork. After Jackson's bouncebacks last season, and starter Andre Hala was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, the change was made. Despite this, Jackson played in all 16 games at cornerback in 2018.

Jackson signed a three-year contract with the Denver Broncos on March 13, 2019. Jackson defeated the Tennessee Titans 16–0 in week 6, with an interception by Ryan Tannehill. This was his first interception of the season and as a Broncos member. Jackson intercepted a pass kicked by Deshaun Watson in week 14 against his former team, the Houston Texans, and won by 35 yards on Monday, earning him AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Jackson was suspended for the final two games of the 2019 season on December 17, 2019. The suspension resulted from a September arrest for DUI. On December 30, 2019, he was released from suspension.

Jackson recovered a fumble against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 17 and later intercepted a pass kicked by Derek Carr during the 32–31 loss.

The Broncos refused Jackson's employment on March 17, 2021, making him an unrestricted free agent. Jackson signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the Broncos on March 24, 2021.

Jackson signed a one-year contract with the Broncos on April 11, 2022.

Source