As expected, cornerback/safety Marlin Jackson has been placed on injured reserve, ending his 2010 season with the Eagles before it had even started. This will be Jackson's third straight year on IR, after tearing each of his ACLs during his 2008 and 2009 seasons with the Colts. After Jackson went down with a ruptured Achilles tendon on a non-contact drill during OTAs, we all unfortunately knew that this would be the next step.
At his press conference this afternoon, Andy Reid spoke of Jackson's future with the organization:
"You are not going to find a tougher, more dedicated guy and these things all of a sudden they change and happen pretty quick. We went through this a little bit with (Derrick) Burgess. Banged up, banged up, banged up, and then he got himself healthy and went to a couple of Pro Bowls. Marlin, he's a positive guy, an upbeat guy, a smart guy, and a tough guy, so he'll work through this, and these crazy things will stop and he'll have a nice career ahead of him."
Jackson signed a two year deal with the Eagles back in March, with the hopes that he would challenge for the starting free safety position. Now, it looks like rookie Nate Allen is the frontrunner for that slot. Still, if Macho Harris, Kurt Coleman, or one of the other reserve safeties fails to catch on after a year, Jackson may have another shot at making a difference on this team. For now, though, all he can do is recover.