NFL Rumors: Commanders' William Jackson III Wants to Be Traded; Several Teams Eye CB

Washington Commanders cornerback William Jackson III may be on the move ahead of the NFL's Nov. 1 trade deadline.

According to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero, Jackson "wants a fresh start, preferably with a scheme that he believes better fits him."

Washington has responded by holding trade discussions, and the report noted that "several teams" are interested in the cornerback.

The report explained that Jackson believes he fits better in man-to-man defensive schemes, while the Commanders have utilized zone defense in the secondary a number of times.

He was also taken out of the Week 5 loss to the Tennessee Titans. Head coach Ron Rivera told reporters: "We just decided to make a change ... We make decisions based on the flow of the game."

Jackson, who will not play Thursday's game against the Chicago Bears and was listed with a back injury in practice reports, said he was battling the injury during the game against the Titans.

The 29-year-old entered the league as a first-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2016, and he played for the AFC North team through the 2020 campaign. While he never made a Pro Bowl and had just three interceptions in that span, he still made an impression as a lockdown cornerback at times.

Pro Football Focus gave him a player grade of 90.2 during the 2017 campaign and a 71.4 mark in 2020.

Jackson caught enough attention from the Commanders to sign a three-year, $42 million contract ahead of the 2021 season. He appeared in 12 games in his first year with the team, finishing with 39 tackles, eight passes defended and two interceptions.

He has 16 tackles and two passes defended in four games this season.

Perhaps a change in scenery could help him rediscover the form he showed at times for the Bengals, and it seems like that switch could be coming before the deadline arrives.

Washington is off to a 1-4 start and is well behind the rest of the division, with the Philadelphia Eagles at 5-0 and the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants each at 4-1, so any type of draft pick or future asset it could land in a deal may help accelerate a rebuild.