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After a defensive-led domination in Super Bowl 50 over the Carolina Panthers this past February, the Denver Broncos faced the tough decision of who to keep and who to let go. Re-signing all of the key free agent pieces on the team’s defensive side of the ball was simply not feasible.
Following star linebacker Von Miller’s display of greatness in those playoffs, it was evident that important players such as linebacker Danny Trevathan and defensive tackle Malik Jackson were going to garner much more fruitful offers on the open market.
When the 2016 free agent signing period began earlier this March, speculation quickly turned into reality as Trevathan and Jackson both signed with other NFL teams for deals the Broncos came nowhere close to matching.
With Denver on the verge of playing themselves out of playoff contention, currently sitting at a 7-4 record and on the outside looking in at the AFC playoff standings, one of those former defensive centerpieces is foaming at the mouth to assure the Broncos do not return to the postseason.
As the Broncos prepare to travel to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars this Sunday, defensive tackle Malik Jackson—who signed a six-year $85 million contract with the Jags—made it known he is looking forward to spoiling what remaining playoff hopes Denver may possess.
“I think that would be awesome to definitely go down there and beat the old team that let you go,” Jackson told reporters on Wednesday. “But I’m definitely looking forward to the game, definitely one I’ve had circled for a long time, definitely just because it’s my old team and I know a lot of those guys, and I practiced with the offense everyday… It’s going to be fun, man. I just want to have a great time and play great, and everybody goes home safely, but I’m definitely excited to play these guys.”
Though Denver has not seemed to suffer much in the sack production department since Jackson’s departure, the team currently ranks an abysmal 27th in rush defense this season, down a whopping 24 spots from a season ago and clearly missing Jackson’s dominant presence between the tackles. He plans to remind the of that Sunday.
“My whole premise for going out there and just letting them know that I’m a problem,” Jackson said. “You let this problem go, so now you have to deal with me today.”
Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak expressed what Jackson meant to his franchise a season ago as well as the current contributions he is making for his new team thus far this year.
“Malik is a hell of a player. He’s a really good kid. I really liked Malik,” he stated during his mid-week meeting with the media. “I liked his energy for the game. He loved to play. He made a lot of big plays for us on our football team last year. He was a big part of what we did. He’s been playing really well. He’s been very active playing the three [technique]. They’re doing a lot of stuff with him. He plays extremely hard. They’re really good on defense. I think they’re ranked right behind us. They’re a really good defensive football team. I know they’re very talented. He’s definitely helped them.”
Offensive coordinator Rick Dennison echoed the head coach’s fond comments of Jackson as a player coupled with the real threat the Jaguars’ defense poses to his offense should they find themselves not executing properly come Sunday.
“He’s playing very well,” Dennison said. “Their team speed jumps out at you when you watch it on tape. Their scheme is such that they get to a spot and they all chase the ball. We have to do a great job of getting north and south. Otherwise, there will be a bunch of guys hitting us. We stressed that, and we’ll keep stressing that.”
With Jackson looking to obtain revenge on the team that let him walk, combined with atrocious offensive line play and the possibility of a rookie quarterback making only his second start of the season, Sunday’s matchup in Jacksonville may not be the pencil-in win it once appeared to be for the Denver Broncos.
