🚨 Drake Jackson’s NFL Career Might Already Be Over
Drake Jackson came into the league with big expectations. The 49ers grabbed him in the 2nd round of the 2022 NFL Draft — a pass rusher out of USC who showed flashes of potential, even though he wasn’t always used properly in college. Early on, things looked promising. He batted down eight passes and got three sacks in his rookie season.
But the honeymoon didn’t last long.
By the end of that first year, Jackson’s conditioning became a real issue. He started showing up on the inactive list — not because of injury, but because the coaches simply didn’t want to play him. He was even left off the field during the playoffs.
Then came 2023. He started strong, notching three sacks in the first game of the season against the Steelers. It looked like he was turning the corner.
Turns out, those three sacks would be his only ones for the entire year.
A knee injury eventually landed him on injured reserve that November, and he never got back on track. Surgery and recovery setbacks kept him off the field all the way through the 2024 season.
Meanwhile, the 49ers moved on.
They signed edge rusher Yetur Gross-Matos in free agency and used a 2025 first-round pick on Mykel Williams — both playing Jackson’s position. That told you everything you needed to know. And just days after the 2025 NFL Draft, the team officially cut him after he failed a physical.
Since then? Crickets.
No tryouts. No rumors. No interest from any of the other 31 teams. Jackson is only 24, but the NFL seems to have already moved on. Maybe he’ll get a look once training camp injuries pile up, but for now, his career appears to be on life support — if not already over.
For a guy once hyped as a draft-day steal, it’s a pretty brutal fall.
Once a Top Pick, Now Out of Work — Is Retirement Next for This 49ers Bust?
