According to Kevin Patra of nfl.com, former National Football League Pro Bowl and Super Bowl champion defensive tackle Malik Jackson of Northridge, California has retired at the age of 33. The product of the University of Tennessee played 10 seasons in the NFL from 2012 to 2021 with the Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns.
Jackson played his first four NFL seasons with the Broncos (2012 to 2015). He then spent three seasons with the Jaguars from 2016 to 2018, two seasons with the Eagles from 2019 to 2020, and one season with the Browns in 2021. According to Adam De La Rose of yardbarker.com, Jackson was not signed by any NFL franchise during the 2022 season.
In 142 NFL games, Jackson had 292 combined tackles (206 solo tackles and 86 assisted tackles), 63 tackles for a loss, 106 quarterback hits, one safety, 29 pass deflections, six forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries for -2 yards, and 35.5 sacks. Jackson’s lone NFL safety came in a 29-10 Broncos win over the Green Bay Packers on November 1, 2015.
While with the Broncos during the 2015 NFL season, Jackson was on the Broncos team that won the Super Bowl. On February 7, 2016, he scored a touchdown on a fumble recovery in the end zone in a 24-10 Denver win over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50.
Jackson’s lone Pro Bowl season was with the Jaguars in 2017. In 16 games, he had 40 combined tackles (31 solo tackles and nine assisted tackles), 10 tackles for a loss, 11 quarterback hits, three pass deflections, four forced fumbles and eight sacks.
The Browns decided not to re-sign Jackson when they came to terms with Taven Bryan from the Jaguars on March 16, 2022. Interestingly, Bryan only spent one season with the Browns as he came to terms on a one-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts on St. Patrick’s Day 2023.
