Kareem Jackson signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday, allowing the defensive back to join a select group of Alabama alumni by entering his 15th NFL season.
The Bills announced Jackson’s signing after coach Sean McDermott revealed on Monday that safety Mike Edwards had suffered a hamstring injury, which would be assessed weekly throughout the preseason.
Jackson, a first-round draft pick in 2010 from Alabama’s undefeated 2009 BCS national championship team, began his NFL career as a cornerback with the Houston Texans, where he played for nine seasons. He later signed with the Denver Broncos in 2019 and transitioned to the safety position.
Only a few former Alabama players have played in at least 15 NFL regular seasons. Quarterback Bart Starr participated in 16 seasons from 1956 to 1971, while punter Chris Mohr and quarterback Ken Stabler each played in 15.
Among Crimson Tide alumni, only Mohr, Howard Cross, and Cornelius Bennett have appeared in more regular-season NFL games than Jackson’s 203, and only Bennett has started more games than Jackson’s 193. Mohr appeared in 239 regular-season games, Cross in 207, and Bennett in 206, with Bennett starting 204 games.
In 2022, Jackson reached a career-high with 94 tackles. However, during the first 14 games of Denver’s 2023 season, Jackson started eight games and was suspended for six. On October 23, the NFL suspended Jackson for four games for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Packers tight end Luke Musgrave, which occurred during the Broncos’ 19-17 victory over Green Bay. Jackson was penalized for unnecessary roughness and disqualified from further participation. His suspension was appealed and reduced to two games.
On November 20, Jackson was again suspended for four games for unnecessary roughness after hitting Minnesota Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs. This time, the suspension was upheld upon appeal.
In the first six weeks of the 2023 season, Jackson was fined four times by the NFL for unnecessary roughness, totaling fines of $14,819 in Week 1, $19,669 in Week 2, $11,473 in Week 3, and $43,709 in Week 6. He was also penalized and ejected during Denver’s 35-33 loss to Washington on September 17 for a hit on Commanders tight end Logan Thomas.
After returning from his second suspension, Denver did not reactivate Jackson, leading to his release. The Texans claimed him, and he played in the final two regular-season games and a playoff game with Houston. Jackson became an unrestricted free agent on March 13.
Buffalo begins its preseason on August 10 against the Chicago Bears and starts its regular-season schedule on September 8 against the Arizona Cardinals.