Commanders’ William Jackson benched in first half against the Titans

For the second straight week, an underperforming player has been benched by the Washington Commanders. In Sunday’s all-important fixture against the Titans, Ron Rivera seemingly pulled the plug on cornerback William Jackson.

Early in the second quarter, St-Juste replaced Jackson on the perimeter, joining Kendall Fuller, Kamren Curl and Bobby McCain in the secondary.

Jackson was sidelined for the remainder of the half. It’s unclear if an injury forced Jackson from the game. He missed Week 3 against the Eagles with a back issue, but was seen on the sidelines with his helmet off, seemingly indicating he’s not nursing an injury.

Jackson’s taken his lumps in coverage to start the season and surrendered a couple receptions over the first two quarters, but Rivera’s decision to bench the veteran corner might’ve came after his woeful tackle attempt on Derrick Henry on 3rd and 1, as Matthew Paras of the Washington Times noted on Twitter.

Commanders bench William Jackson III in first half vs Titans

Truth be told, this was a long-time coming for Jackson. Entering Week 5, he’s allowed 14 catches on 17 targets. Those catches are averaging 14.2 yards and opposing quarterbacks have a 154.7 passer rating when throwing his direction. Furthermore, Jackson racked up three penalties in the Week 4 loss to the Cowboys.

Again, it’s unclear if Jackson’s dealing with an injury, but all signs indicate he was outright benched for St-Juste, who’s been Washington’s best perimeter corner to start the season. If that is indeed the case, this marks the second straight week a Commanders starter has been pulled due to poor play.

In Week 4 against the Titans, Trai Turner was pulled for Saahdiq Charles after he committed a penalty and allowed a sack on consecutive plays in the first half.

Jackson did not see the field for the final three series of the first half. Rivera has certainly faced the music for the Commanders’ slow start, but credit where it’s due for being decisive and benching Jackson.

Only Carson Wentz has a bigger cap hit for 2022 than Jackson’s $13.81 million. Just goes to show that money shouldn’t determine playing time. That goes for anyone on the roster. If you don’t do your job you don’t deserve to play.