The Bears locked up a key member of their defense for the foreseeable future Saturday when they signed safety Eddie Jackson to a four-year contract extension through 2024.
"We're very excited to get this deal done with Eddie to keep him in a Bears uniform long-term," said general manager Ryan Pace. "It's rare to find a player in this league with talent like Eddie's. He's a rangy ball hawk with exceptional IQ, a great teammate and a natural leader. He is the anchor to the back end of our defense and we are fortunate to have him."
Selected by the Bears in the fourth round of the 2017 draft out of Alabama, Jackson scored five defensive touchdowns in his first two seasons, tied for the most in NFL history with the Jets' Erik McMillan.
The only players in Bears history with more defensive touchdowns are Charles Tillman (9), Mike Brown (7) and Lance Briggs (6).
This season Jackson was voted to the Pro Bowl for the second straight year. He recorded 60 tackles and two interceptions—both of which came late in games and sealed wins over the Lions and Vikings. He also registered five tackles-for-loss, five pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
As a rookie in 2017, Jackson became the first player in NFL history to produce two defensive touchdowns of at least 75 yards in a game when he returned a fumble 75 yards and an interception 76 yards for scores in a 17-3 win over the Panthers.
In 2018, Jackson was named first-team All-Pro. The 6-foot, 202-pounder helped lead the Bears to the NFC North championship with a 12-4 record by registering a career-high six interceptions and scoring three touchdowns on two interception returns and a fumble return.
Jackson was named NFC defensive player of the month in November 2018. He helped lead the Bears to a 4-0 record, scoring three touchdowns while recording 15 tackles, two interceptions, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and four pass breakups.
Against the Bills, Jackson stripped the ball from tight end Jason Croom and returned the fumble 65 yards for a touchdown. In back-to-back games, Jackson returned interceptions for key second-half TDs in one-score victories over division opponents. His 27-yard TD return helped lift the Bears to a 25-20 win over the Vikings and his 41-yarder on Thanksgiving in Detroit snapped a 16-16 tie and gave the Bears a 23-16 victory over the Lions.
Jackson later cemented a 24-17 division-clinching win over the Packers by intercepting an Aaron Rodgers pass in the end zone, snapping the Green Bay quarterback's NFL record streak of 402 passes without an interception.
Jackson has started 46 of a possible 48 games in three seasons with the Bears, missing the final two contests in 2018 with an ankle injury he sustained while returning the Rodgers' interception.
