While Malik Jackson hadn’t played in a NFL game since 2021, the 33-year-old veteran defensive tackle was still potentially an option for teams looking for defensive line help. Jackson removed all doubt there Friday, though, officially announcing his retirement. And he did so on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football with a rather unorthodox announcement.
“Yeah, I’m done,” he said. “I appreciated the ‘free agency’ tag, it made me feel good, but I was like, ‘Nah, I’m not leaving the couch right now. I’m happy at home.'”
🚨 Malik Jackson has some breaking news… 🚨#Done pic.twitter.com/KTf85niLIt
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) July 14, 2023
Jackson was saying that about host Sara Walsh labeling him as a “free agent” when he appeared on Thursday’s edition of Good Morning Football. But the 10-year NFL veteran wanted to put any hopes of a potential comeback to bed and enjoy his time at home and on the couch.
He said the only way he would have come back is if it was a Los Angeles-based team that offered him the right amount of money not to play or practice, the Udonis Haslem of the NFL if you will. So, it’s fair to say that there was never any real interest in returning to football after he last suited up for the Cleveland Browns in 2021.
Jackson played for the Denver Broncos from 2012-15 and won Super Bowl 50 with the team that selected him in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He then went on to play for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles from 2016-2020, before finishing his career in Cleveland. Jackson’s lone Pro Bowl selection came in 2017 when he was with the Jaguars.
“10-12 years [in the league] was my goal,” he said. “I was able to get to a point where I did OK, did pretty well for myself and I think I just did enough. I have a daughter. I need to go home and just want to be with her and start living life.”
We wish him well as he enters a new chapter in his life.
