Clayton: Kareem Jackson makes best of situation with Broncos

NFL free agency reached the two-week mark, which is a scary time for unsigned free agents. The first wave of free agency pays, the second wave doesn’t.

At the two-week mark, offers from teams drop dramatically and this year it’s even tougher since the NFL set the cap at $182.5 million, down eight percent from the previous year. Broncos safety Kareem Jackson found that out.

Though it wasn’t Jackson’s plan to be a free agent, he waited until Tuesday before agreeing to a one-year, $5 million deal to return to the Broncos. When the Broncos didn’t pick up the option on his contract, Jackson had to wait and see what he could get from other teams and he learned firsthand it was tough.

Former Minnesota Vikings safety Anthony Harris signed a one-year, $5 million deal late last week with the Philadelphia Eagles. Jackson was fortunate that the number held until Tuesday.

On Friday, the Broncos concentrated on making a big push to sign cornerback Kyle Fuller, who was cut by the Chicago Bears. Remember, Harris and Justin Simmons were franchise players at safety, with Simmons now holding the title of the highest paid safety in football while Harris has to angle to get a contract next year.

When a player gets this late in free agency, it’s hard to get much more done than a one-year deal. The money isn’t good enough to commit long-term. What worked against Jackson is that free agent players in their thirties aren’t getting much. The tighter salary cap has hit older players harder than any other group.

But Jackson made the best of a difficult situation. Sure, he’s now the lowest paid starter in the secondary, but he has a job returning to Vic Fangio’s secondary, and has a chance to earn more in free agency next year.