Jackson’s return would boost Denver secondary vs. Chargers

Through the Broncos’ first three games, Kareem Jackson was the secondary pillar the team envisioned when signing the defensive back to a three- year, $ 33 million free- agent deal in the offseason.

Jackson played 171 of 173 snaps, including all of the Week 3 loss to the Packers in which he injured his hamstring on Green Bay’s opening drive.

After sitting last week against Jacksonville, Jackson said his hamstring is “feeling good” and that he’ll be back in the starting lineup against the Los Angeles Chargers.

“I’ll be good to go Sunday,” Jackson said. “It wasn’t quite ready last week, so I’m easing back in. I’ll see how it all feels ( after practicing this week), and if it all goes well, I should be good to go.”

Jackson’s versatility has been key for the Broncos early on as cornerback Bryce Callahan‘ s foot injury has kept him sidelined all season.

Jackson got most of his training camp reps at safety, but because of Callahan’s injury, he’s been pressed into nickelback duty in Denver’s sub- packages.

“In Kareem’s case, he didn’t have a lot of nickel practice during the offseason and preseason,” coach Vic Fangio said. “He’s still learning on the job. He knows what to do. He’s experienced, but there’s been a play or two that he hadn’t played correctly, and it’s no fault of his own. He just hadn’t been on the job enough for us.”

For his part, Jackson is eager to re- take the field. The last time the 31- year- old missed a game was the 2016 season with Houston.

“I want to come back, be a piece of the puzzle and try and get this thing going in the right direction,” Jackson said.