Las Vegas Raiders Coach Jon Gruden is not shy about praising or scolding his players to the media.
This week, he gave G Gabe Jackson the greatest compliment.
“This man, if he’s not the best right guard in football, show me the math. I wouldn’t trade Gabe for nothing.”
Gruden is not the only Raider praising Jackson’s play.
Derek Carr was in the same draft class (in 2014) with Jackson; he commented on Jackson’s grit.
“The last couple of years, he’s played hobbled. He’s played with one arm, he’s played with one leg. He’s one of the toughest, grittiest players I’ve ever been around. This year he’s healthy. He’s flying around, smacking dudes like we all knew he could. It’s really fun to watch.”
Carr and Jackson are the only 2 members of the Raiders’ 2014 draft class still with the team.
Gabe Jackson
Certainly, the Las Vegas Raiders can attribute part of their success to a sturdy offensive line.
As Carr alluded to, Jackson has fought through his share of injuries.
In 2019, he suffered a dislocated kneecap, and the year before, he had a dislocated elbow.
Despite all of that, the 29-year-old from Mississippi State has played in 92 games over his career and makes his presence known on the field.
How about Gabe Jackson this season?
Last year, everyone was coming down on him hard. This season, he’s played 512 offensive snaps and hasn’t allowed a sack.
Gabe looks back to his natural form that he showed early in his career.
— Nick Cothrel (@NickCothrel) November 12, 2020
Big Gabe Jackson is quietly having a BIG year . He might be the most underrated player on the team ! Back to being a bully now that he’s healthy! #RaiderNation #Raiders
— ⭕️.G._Todd_Munday (@Raider_Strong) November 13, 2020
And in 2020, Jackson has played with four different tackles and sometimes up to three different tackles per game.
Having his veteran presence consistently on the field has helped the Raiders during their dizzying amount of offensive line injuries.
Jackson downplays the 2020 challenges:
“I help where I can….Even throughout practice, if I know for sure I’m going to have a different tackle than I’ve been working with, we try to communicate things together so he’ll know what it means come game day, so there’s nothing that’s out the picture or that one of us can’t adjust to.”
Illness
The Raiders play the Denver Broncos in Week 10.
Jackson’s name has appeared on the Week 10 injury report for an undisclosed illness.
His status for the game is questionable, and he did not practice on Friday.
If he is not able to play, he will be replaced by rookie John Simpson.
Trade Rumors
Yes, the November 3 trade deadline has come and gone.
Prior to it, there was chatter that Jackson would be on the trading block.
Jackson is the middle of a 5 year $55 million contract that runs through the end of the 2022 season.
Because he is one of the highest paid players on the Raiders’, it was only natural that trade rumors would emerge.
What’s clear is that Gruden and Carr are happy that Jackson is a Raider and look forward to keeping him healthy and on the field for the rest of 2020.
Leave a Reply