Washington Redskins still have Tanard Jackson under contract

Citing “three people with knowledge of the situation”, Washington Redskins beat writer Mark Maske of the Washington Post is reporting that safety Tanard Jackson is still under contract for the 2013 season. His contract has been “rolled” or “tolled” into 2013, and he will be set to make $700,000 in base salary. That was the amount of money the Redskins would have paid Jackson last season after signing him to a three-year deal, and he is still under suspension.

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Jackson missed all of last season due to the suspension, which is for an indefinite amount of time due to multiple violations of the league’s substance abuse policy that stemmed from his days with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 27-year-old Syracuse product is eligible for reinstatement on the final day of August, which is also the day of the 53-man roster crunchdown.

The suspension handed down from the league was for at least one year, so we’ll see how much longer Tanard Jackson misses. He was signed to the Redskins likely due to the connection with current Redskins defensive backs coach Raheem Morris, who was Jackson’s head coach with the Buccaneers.

A great coverage FS, Jackson’s major weakness is that he is a liability in run defense and was a missed-tackle machine in his final year in Tampa Bay. If he is able to play next season for the Redskins, then Jackson will come cheap and should give the Redskins some solid production. According to Maske, the Redskins are hoping that they can start Jackson and Brandon Meriweather at both safety spots. That is a pretty uncertain safety duo, as Meriweather dealt with injuries in 2012 and is a real boom-or-bust player who has major flaws in coverage. It’s a good thing Jackson can cover that up with his ability as a high safety.

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