In the first of several significant moves the Pittsburgh Steelers made this offseason, they sent starting WR Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers for CB Donte Jackson. A deal they’ve clearly come out ahead in, Jackson offered a rare insight into the process of getting shipped from one team to another.
“I found out that I was either going to be traded or released,” Jackson said in a recent interview on the Arthur Moats with Deke podcast. “Most likely traded because they were telling me I have good value. Just a cap casualty. Sometimes, it be like that. I didn’t want to leave, but some things happened. They gotta move money around.”
Jackson carried a high base salary for a 30-year-old corner who had torn his Achilles two years prior. While he bounced back and played in 2023, a new regime of head coach Dave Canales and general manager Dan Morgan began reshaping the roster in their vision. It didn’t include Jackson.
After being traded to Pittsburgh, Jackson took a pay cut and reduced his base salary. It’s made him a solid value, having a good season and leading the team with five interceptions, the most he’s ever had in a single-season.
Told he’d soon exit the Panthers’ organization, he heard rumblings about the Steelers before national word got out.
“A week before getting traded here, it could be Pittsburgh,” Jackson said. “That was all I needed to hear. As a kid, everybody grow up Pittsburgh Steelers fans. Before you know it or not, everybody watch the Steelers…I didn’t even know Coach T., but I always loved Coach T.”
The initial trade news would be a tough pill for any player to swallow, especially one like Jackson, who had spent his entire career in one place. But Jackson immediately embraced the transition. He started off the season red-hot, picking off a pass and breaking up two others in a season-opening win against the Atlanta Falcons. While his coverage has waned in recent weeks, he also has interceptions in two of his last three games, becoming the first Steelers’ cornerback to snag five passes in his first year with the team since DeWayne Washington in 1998.
He’s maintained a positive attitude and brought plenty of energy to the locker room. He’s also enjoying being on a winning team in his six seasons with Carolina.
Once thought of as a rental, Jackson could return in 2025. He’s a pending free agent, and both sides will have to come together on his market value, which is likely a slight uptick in what he’s made this season. That’ll offer the team stability at corner they haven’t had in recent years, following a trend of replacing starting cornerbacks. In 2022, it was Levi Wallace. In 2023, it was Patrick Peterson. And in 2024, it was Jackson. In 2025, it ideally remains the same pairing of Joey Porter Jr. and Jackson on the outside.
