The NFL has suspended Denver Broncos safety Kareem Jackson four games without pay for violations of unnecessary roughness rules, the league announced on Monday.
The suspension comes after Jackson was disqualified from Sunday’s win over Green Bay after delivering a hit to Packers tight end Luke Musgrave, who was deemed a defenseless receiver. Jackson was flagged for a personal foul penalty in addition to his disqualification from the game.
“On the play in question, you delivered a forceful blow to the head/neck area of a defenseless receiver, when you had the time and space to avoid such contact,” NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan wrote in a letter to Jackson. “You could have made contact with your opponent within the rules, yet you chose not to.”
Runyan, who issued the suspension, noted that Jackson has had multiple offenses for personal fouls during the 2023 season for violating player safety-related rules, including a flagrant hit in a Week 2 game against Washington for which he was also disqualified.
NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero report that Jackson is appealing the suspension, per sources. Prior to Sunday’s hit, Jackson had been fined four times this season for illegal hits, Pelissero reported.
Jackson’s four-game suspension is the longest for violating a player-safety rule since Vontaze Burfict (12 games) and Myles Garrett (six games) in 2019, according to NFL Research. Burfict was suspended for targeting and Garrett for unsportsmanlike conduct after swinging a helmet at Mason Rudolph.
Jackson would be eligible to return from the suspension to the Broncos’ active roster on Monday, Nov. 27, following the team’s Week 12 against the Browns.