The oldest Buffalo Bills player under contract hasn鈥檛 played in a game this year, flies under the radar in the team鈥檚 locker room and works every day toward the goal of capping his career with a Super Bowl title.
Bills safety Kareem Jackson, 36, has a combined 210 regular-season and playoff games on his r茅sum茅 鈥撀爋ne he began to compile way back in 2010 with the Houston Texans.
Bills safety Kareem Jackson, whose last action was in a preseason game against the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 24, has spent the season on the Bills' practice squad.
The Bills signed Jackson on July 30, cut him on Aug. 27 and signed him to the practice squad on Aug. 28.
鈥淏eing here and being a part of it, I鈥檓 enjoying the organization and the coaching staff and obviously the (defensive backs) room,鈥 he said earlier this month. 鈥淲ith it being my 15th year, I take it a day at a time and I鈥檓 staying ready.
鈥淒efinitely a different situation I鈥檓 not used to.鈥
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A first-round pick by the Texans (No. 20 overall), Jackson was a starter at cornerback and then safety in Houston for nine years before becoming a full-time safety for Denver in 2019. Last year, illegal hits cost him $837,000 in lost paychecks via suspension (bans of two and four games) and $89,670 in fines. The Broncos cut him, and he rejoined the Texans, appearing in one playoff game.
The experience playing corner and safety Jackson can dispense to his teammates is immeasurable. His classroom preparation remains the same, but his game-week routine has changed dramatically because of his playing time.
鈥淔or sure,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 do the same stuff as I was when I (started), but I鈥檓 working out a little bit more in the weight room and doing extra cardio because I鈥檓 not burning the same number of calories as I would if I was playing on Sundays. Just managing my body in a different way and making sure I鈥檓 ready and in great shape if I get the chance to play.鈥
Jackson calls the Bills experience 鈥渁ctually pretty cool.鈥
鈥淚 love the environment coach Sean (McDermott) and the leaders, guys like Josh (Allen), have created here,鈥 he said. 鈥淕etting a chance to see Josh navigate the week and guys on offense like Dion (Dawkins, the left tackle), James (Cook, the running back) and guys on defense prepare 鈥 they鈥檝e been good for a long time here and seeing that up close, it鈥檚 not by chance that they鈥檝e had success.鈥
Jackson's聽deepest playoff runs are divisional appearances with Houston after the 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2023 seasons. If the Bills need help at safety down the stretch, Jackson is a great option to have in the bullpen.
Quick kicks
1. Clinching early. The Bills enter Week 12 with a 5陆-game lead in the AFC East with six games remaining. I looked at the division since 2004 and the current earliest clinch date was New England in 2007, when the 16-0 Patriots wrapped up the division in Week 12. The Patriots clinched in Week 13 in 2012. In the past four years, the Bills clinched the division in Weeks 15, 18, 16 and 18.
2. On a roll. For just the second time since the 1970 merger (2017 was the other year), six teams enter Week 12 with winning streaks of at least four games 鈥 Detroit (eight), Buffalo and Philadelphia (six), Pittsburgh (five) and Arizona and the Los Angeles Chargers (four). Also, six teams have at least eight wins entering Week 12 for only the third time in 35 years (six teams in 1999 and seven teams in 2019) 鈥 Detroit and Kansas City (9-1), the Bills (9-2) and Minnesota, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh (8-2).
3. Shurmur on Shurmur. I asked Bills offensive quality control coach Kyle Shurmur last week how much fun his dad, Pat, was having as the offensive coordinator at Colorado, calling plays for quarterback Shedeur Sanders and receiver/cornerback/Heisman Trophy favorite Travis Hunter. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been so rejuvenated,鈥 Kyle said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 absolutely loved coaching out there. Coach Prime (Deion Sanders) has been incredible, first and foremost, and the guys he has on the team make his life easy. Shedeur is a phenomenal player and the same with Hunter and a lot of the other skill guys they have on offense. My dad is like a little kid every time I talk to him, he鈥檚 so excited.鈥
The Buffs (8-2) rank seventh nationally in passing yards per game (322.2). Pat聽Shurmur is back in the college game after coaching in the NFL from 1999-2021, including stints as the head coach with Cleveland and the New York Giants.
4. Draft watch. Indiana (10-0), fifth in the College Football Playoff rankings, plays at No. 2 Ohio State (9-1) on Saturday (noon, Fox). Buckeyes defensive tackle Tyleik Williams (No. 91) is a 6-foot-3, 327-pound force who has 22 tackles and 2陆 sacks this year. A fourth-year senior, he led Ohio State in tackles for lost yardage in 2023 (10) and projects as a top-25 pick in the draft.
5. Extra points.聽The New York Jets firing Joe Douglas (no playoff appearances in six seasons) creates the first general manager opening of this cycle. Overmatched Jets owner Woody Johnson should tell quarterback Aaron Rodgers to pack his bags and start a general manager/head coach search with the guarantee of a six-year contract, knowing 2025 will be a Year Zero to get the roster purged. 鈥 Places this year I鈥檝e been asked, 鈥淒o you know you look like Scott Van Pelt from ESPN?鈥 鈥 Baltimore (security guard), Houston (Texans media members), Indianapolis (guy at a White Castle) and Buffalo (Bills fan in parking lot). Sorry, SVP.
