Steelers practice-squad CB Josh Jackson forced into action, eager to play more if needed
The circumstances, on whole, were surely not ones Josh Jackson will be particularly eager to recall when looking back at his NFL career.
His team lost, 38-3. He was beat for a touchdown. A pair of teammates at his position went down with injuries.
But Jackson’s 26 snaps at cornerback at Highmark Stadium on Sunday not only marked Jackson’s Pittsburgh Steelers debut, they represented the first significant stretch of regular-season football on defense that Jackson had played since midway through the 2020 season.
“Playing a (full) half, early in the season, I hadn’t done that in a while,” Jackson said, “so I felt good to get back out there.”
Signed to the Steelers’ practice squad the month prior, Jackson was a designated “call-up” for Sunday’s game at the Buffalo Bills. Ahkello Witherspoon did not play because of a hamstring injury, and fellow Steelers starting cornerbacks Cameron Sutton (hamstring/groin) and Levi Wallace (concussion) also left the game because of injury.
That left Jackson playing every down for the Steelers.
“Just part of my job,” Jackson said. “I’ve still got to get back in the swing of things, playing with the 1’s, playing with the defense, kind of seeing how they operate. It’s all a learning process, but always when you’re back at a position, you have to be ready at all times because you never know what happens.”
Jackson might again be called upon in the Steelers’ next game, Sunday at home against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A second-round pick of the Green Bay Packers in 2018, Jackson has played 46 regular-season NFL games, starting 15. Pending the status of Witherspoon and/or Sutton and/or Wallace, it’s not out of the realm of possibility he could be making start No. 16 on Sunday.
“Just really have got to keep getting better, and whenever my name is called I have got to be able to perform,” Jackson said. “I feel good, I just have to keep getting into the swing of things, keep getting better each game I play. But I am feeling good, I felt good out there (Sunday), I felt confident. But I always just have to keep working.”
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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