The Washington Commanders saw enough in just 3 games in 2025 to continue their Drake Jackson experiment for at least 1 more year.
“The Commanders and defensive lineman Drake Jackson reached agreement on a one-year extension, per his agent Drew Rosenhaus.,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on Thursday.
Jackson was a 2nd round pick (No. 61 overall) by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2022 NFL draft, but has only played in 11 out of a possible 51 regular-season games since 2023 due to injuries.
“The Commanders are bringing back DE Drake Jackson on a 1-year deal,” Preme Football wrote on its official X account. “Jackson gets another shot after missing the entire 2024 season following surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon suffered in 2023. He was previously activated from IR late last season, marking his first return from the devastating knee injury. Now, Washington officially brings him back for another year to see if the former second-round pick can fully bounce back.”
Jackson Taken Off Injured Reserve Late in Season
Jackson signed with the Commanders in October and came off injured reserve to play 3 games late in the season, and you could barely tell he was on the field — he had 3 tackles, no sacks, no TFL, and no QB hits.
“We have made the following roster moves: Activated DE Drake Jackson from the Reserve/Injured List, Released S Darnell Savage,” the Commanders wrote on their official X account on Thursday, December 4.
From Pac-12 Star to Second Round Draft Pick
Jackson was a 3-time All-Pac 12 pick at USC from 2019 to 2021 before the San Francisco 49ers selected him in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft (No. 61 overall).
Jackson played in 23 games in his first 2 seasons with no starts and had 6.0 sacks before he was injured in Week 9 of the 2023 season. He underwent surgery on his patellar tendon, which not only cost him the final 9 games of that year, but all of the 2024 season as well.
The 49ers released Jackson in May and he signed with the Commanders on October 15. He hadn’t played in an NFL game in over 2 years before he finally took the field for Washington on December 20 in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Commanders went 5-12 and were eliminated from the playoffs 1 week before Jackson saw the field.
Commanders Have Vacuum at Edge Rusher
If we’re talking about position groups about to receive a complete overhaul in the offseason, we can start with the edge rushers, where it’s been a wasteland for the Commanders in 2025.
That’s through no one’s fault except for the Commanders, who over leveraged themselves on the interior defensive line with $144 million in contracts for non-factor veterans Daron Payne and Javon Kinlaw and also wasted a second round pick in 2024 on defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton.
That doesn’t leave a lot of room to pay or make room for productive edge rushers, where the only available band-aid after an offseason of failed trade attempts ended up being to sign 26-year-old- former Super Bowl MVP Von Miller to a 1-year, $6.1 million contract on July 17.
The Commanders were 20th in the NFL with 26 sacks and 31st in total defense in 2025— not what you really want out of a team with a head coach who made his name as a defensive coordinator with Dan Quinn.
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