Could Broncos safety Kareem Jackson be a cap casualty?

While the franchise tag will likely keep safety Justin Simmons with the Denver Broncos for at least another season, his partner in the defensive backfield, Kareem Jackson, may be a victim of the salary cap.

Speaking with “Stokley & Zach” on Tuesday, DenverFan.com Senior Broncos Writer John Clayton said Jackson’s odds of staying in orange and blue in 2021 likely “aren’t very good.”

“My feeling is he’s going to be a cap casualty,” Clayton said.

Per OverTheCap.com, the Broncos are projected to have approximately $42.35 million in cap space in 2021. In the final year of his contract with Denver, Jackson is slated to have a cap hit of $12.88 million, per Spotrac.com.

As to whether parting with Jackson could hurt the Broncos potential pursuit of Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, Clayton says moving on from the hard-hitting safety won’t be a factor.

“Remember, it’s a matter of who can work out the trade with Houston as opposed to where Watson wants to go,” Clayton said. “He’ll want to go to Denver. He’ll want to go Carolina. He wants just to be out of Houston, so either place is fine. But the recruiting part isn’t part of it.”

Jackson, who was teammates with Watson with Houston in 2017 and 2018, confirmed in early February that the quarterback had interest in playing for the Broncos.

“I had a couple of conversations with him. Denver is a place that’s he’s interested in landing,” Jackson told TMZ Sports.

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