Adoree' Jackson expects grudge-free game against his former team
Giants cornerback Adoree' Jackson smiles during a preseason game against the Bengals on Aug. 21, 2022. Credit: AP/Vera Nieuwenhuis
The Titans didn’t seem to miss Adoree’ Jackson all that much. After releasing him in the 2021 offseason to save money against the salary cap, they went on to earn the top seed in the AFC without him.
Deemed expendable in Nashville, he returns on Sunday as a starting cornerback for the Giants holding no ill feelings toward his former team.
“Not at all,” he said this week. “That’s the organization that drafted me, so I’m forever thankful and grateful for the opportunity that they gave me. It just didn’t pan out the way they wanted, and I wanted. That’s how life goes. God gives you second chances to open another door when one closes.”
That door came with the Giants, where he was signed to be the wingman cornerback to Pro Bowler James Bradberry in 2021. Now in his second year in New York, and with Bradberry gone, Jackson finds himself as the team’s top cover man.
“He’s been dependable,” coach Brian Daboll said. “He’s made a lot of plays on the ball. He knows our defense. He’s a good communicator. Corners, you’re kind of out there on an island a lot of the time, and I think his teammates really respect him.”
Jackson said he played with a carefree spirit this summer that allowed him to impress.
“I feel like I had the most fun that I’ve had in a while,” he said. “It made me feel like a kid again being out there playing, running around with the guys, just doing what I love to do. I think it has more to do with just me being through what I’ve been through, overcoming some things, and just learning about myself over these past couple of years going through life.”
Had the Titans not released him, in other words, he might not have found that bliss.
Just one more reason not to hold any grudges.
Notes & quotes: The Giants’ unofficial depth chart lists second-year running back Gary Brightwell as the first-team kickoff returner. He did not have a kickoff return as a rookie last season, but Brightwell returned two kickoffs for 47 yards in the preseason. “He’s everything that we want in a returner,” special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey said. “I look forward to seeing him make some plays.” . . . The Giants did not practice on Thursday but projected WR Sterling Shepard (Achilles), S Dane Belton (clavicle), LB Kayvon Thibodeaux (knee) and LB Azeez Ojulari (calf) as limited would-be participants . . . Wyatt Davis was signed by the Saints off the Giants’ practice squad. The Giants re-signed rookie OL Roy Mbaeteka to take his place.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
More Giants
