The Houston Texans got spurned, as veteran safety Kareem Jackson chose one of their AFC rivals over them.
Jackson has not played since the 2024 season, and his decision was which team he would retire as a member of. Rather than selecting the Texans, who drafted him 20th overall in 2021 and rostered him for nine-plus seasons, Jackson chose the Denver Broncos.
For additional context, Jackson spent 15 seasons in the NFL, four-plus of them in Denver.
“Orange & Blue, always,” the Broncos social media team posted on X on October 14,” adding, “@ReemBoi25, who played in Denver from 2019-23, officially chose to retire as a member of the Broncos today,” and saying, “Congrats, K-Jack!”
Congrats, K-Jack!
As part of his announcement, Jackson signed a one-day contract, facilitating his retirement as a member of the Broncos.
It is a surprising decision since Jackson spent the vast majority of his career with the Texans.
Kareem Jackson Spurns Texans for Broncos
Jackson split the 2023 season between the Broncos and Texans, spending more time with the former than the latter, and last played for the Buffalo Bills in 2024.
He appeared in 205 games in his career, starting 193 of those contests. Jackson started all 69 games he appeared in during his Broncos tenure, but he logged 124 starts in 134 total appearances with the Texans.
His production matched that discrepancy.
Jackson tallied 393 combined stops, 6 interceptions, 4 fumble recoveries, 1 forced fumble (which he returned for a touchdown), and 1.0 sack with the Broncos.
He had 561 tackles, 16 of his 22 career interceptions (with 3 TDs), 6 forced fumbles, 3 recoveries, and 2.0 sacks with the Texans. Moreover, of Jackson’s 10 games in the playoffs, all eight starts and nine of the appearances came with the Texans.
His only other appearance came as a member of the Bills.
Nevertheless, Jackson will ostensibly go down in the history books as a Broncos player who also spent some time with the Texans and the Bills.
22-Interception Defensive Back Chooses AFC Rival Over Texans