Steelers acquire William Jackson III from Commanders
The Commanders received a conditional sixth-round draft pick in 2024 for Jackson and a conditional seventh-rounder in 2025.
Jackson, who signed a three-year deal worth up to $40.5 million with $21 million guaranteed in 2021, was expected to be released by the deadline if Washington didn’t find a trade partner.
The Steelers lack depth at cornerback and corner Ahkello Witherspoon in last Sunday’s 35-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. James Pierre, previously an undrafted free agent, stepped in for Witherspoon. The Steelers have the second-worst passing defense in the NFL, allowing more than 277 passing yards per game.
Jackson was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the 2016 draft, one spot ahead of the Steelers. At the time, the Steelers liked Jackson but had to settle for corner Artie Burns with Jackson off the board.
Jackson has a base salary of $5 million this season — with $750,000 in per-game bonuses — and a base salary of $9.25 million next season.
The Commanders had been trying to trade Jackson for multiple weeks but did not anticipate anyone trading for him before Tuesday afternoon. Their prior offers typically involved a player swap, but not the desired draft pick they coveted, and they felt teams were waiting for them to release him.
But Jackson also was dealing with a bulging disc in his back, an MRI revealed. It kept him out of the past four games because of the injury. However, that had subsided of late making him more desirable to acquire.
ESPN’s John Keim contributed to this report.