Broncos safety Kareem Jackson is flying to New York to meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday to seek further explanation regarding his latest suspension and wants further clarity on how the league enforces player safety. Jackson has been suspended for a total of six games this season that stretch over two different instances, centering around the veteran laying down illegal hits.
Jackson told reporters on Tuesday that he sees "a lot of the same things happening around the league where guys aren't going through what I'm going through -- no flags, no fines, no suspensions."
"I'm not really sure why I'm being treated the way I'm being treated. I'm making regular football plays, nothing malicious, in my opinion," he said, via ESPN. "I just want to know why I'm the only person going through what I'm going through."
Jackson had initially been suspended for two games for a hit on Packers tight end Luke Musgrave that saw him be ejected from the contest for the second time this season. He had reached out to the league for clarification, but said he received no answers. In his first game back from that suspension, he laid a hard hit on Vikings quarterback Joshua Dobbs (that wasn't flagged) where he did seem to lead with the crown of his helmet. The NFL reviewed the play and concluded that it was worthy of a four-game suspension.
"There's no clarity, a lot of gray area," Jackson said. "I asked them a ton of questions and told them I'll be in the same situations. How am I supposed to play or how am I supposed to go about these situations? So, hopefully, something comes from this meeting. I don't think much will, because I don't even think they know. At this point, I feel like I'm the poster child for whatever they're trying to get across or prove. So, we'll see."
On top of the two suspensions and two ejections this year, Jackson has been fined $89,670 and is set to lose $837,000 in game wages for the six weeks he's currently set to miss.
