Former first-team All-Pro safety Eddie Jackson has agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens, the NFL team announced on Friday afternoon.
An Alabama alumnus, Jackson had spent his entire seven-year NFL career with the Chicago Bears but was released on Feb. 15 with one year remaining on a $58.4 million contract.
Last season, Baltimore had three safeties who started at least 11 games and played more than 54 percent of the Ravens’ defensive snaps. Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams return, but Geno Stone, who had seven interceptions in 2023, left via free agency.
Baltimore’s veteran players are scheduled to report for training camp on Saturday.
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Jackson joined the Bears in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft after he missed the final seven games of Alabama’s 2016 season because of a broken leg suffered in the Crimson Tide’s 33-14 victory over Texas A&M on Oct. 22.
In his first three NFL seasons, Jacksonintercepted 10 passes, recovered five fumbles and scored five touchdowns. He was a first-team All-Pro in his second season and repeated as a Pro Bowler in his third.
With a season remaining on the safety’s four-year rookie contract, the Bears signed Jackson to a $58.4 million extension designed to keep him with the team through the 2024 season.
After signing Jackson to the contract extension, Chicago switched his role in the secondary, using him primarily as a strong safety instead of at free safety. He didn’t intercept a pass in 2020 or 2021.
After drafting safety Jaquan Brisker in 2022, the Bears moved Jackson back to free safety, and he responded with four interceptions, even though he missed five games.
In 2023, Jackson again missed five games because of injuries and recorded a career-low 37 tackles while playing a career-low 645 defensive snaps. Jackson had averaged 70.3 tackles and 927.5 defensive snaps in his first six seasons.
Chicago released Jackson in February for a salary-cap savings of$12.56 millionin 2024.
Jackson started all 100 regular-season games that he played with the Bears – the most for an Alabama alumnus in franchise history. But Jackson left Chicago five short of John Mangum’s record for the most games played for the Bears by an Alabama alumnus.
The Ravens start their three-game preseason schedule on Aug. 9 against the Philadelphia Eagles and kick off their regular-season slate on Sept. 5 against the Kansas City Chiefs in the first game of the NFL’s 2024 campaign.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.