In what’s become a regular occurrence this season, Broncos safety Kareem Jackson again found himself delivering a high hit to an opponent Sunday afternoon.
For the second time in seven games, the 14th year pro got ejected.
He’s almost certainly going to draw another hefty fine — he’s up past $89,000 on four fines this year — and could face suspension.
This time, Jackson hit Green Bay tight end Luke Musgrave high early in the fourth quarter. Musgrave was turning up the sideline and slipped, lowering his target. But Jackson’s facemask hit Musgrave high and the flags came out immediately.
“One of the challenges for Kareem is he’s got some priors,” head coach Sean Payton said after the game, adding that, because of that, he wasn’t surprised to see the penalty flags. “When you get pulled over and you’ve had four or five speeding violations, you’re going to spend a little more time on the side of the road than if you didn’t have any.
“… I haven’t seen a real clean shot of it. We’ve just got to keep finding ways to keep the head out of the main part of the hit.”
Jackson had unnecessary roughness penalties the first two weeks of the season that knocked Las Vegas receiver Jakobi Meyers and Washington tight end Logan Thomas out of games with concussions. He also drew a fine in Week 6 for a hit on Kansas City running back Isaiah Pacheco — not penalized on the field — in which the running back’s helmet flew off.
Now another for Jackson, who was replaced in Denver’s lineup by P.J. Locke.
“Kareem’s a tremendous player and he doesn’t do things intentionally,” cornerback Pat Surtain II said. “He always puts the extra effort in to make a play. It’s unfortunate to see them make that call, but I know Kareem as a player and that’s just him. He’s physical all around, he gives tremendous effort out there.”
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