Commanders Bench William Jackson III in Loss? Injured CB, Coach Ron Rivera Give Conflicting Answers

Washington Commanders cornerback William Jackson III left the game early in the loss against the Tennessee Titans. As to why he came out of the game, there are conflicting stories.

LANDOVER, Md. -- The Washington Commanders have a lot of question marks after falling to the Tennessee Titans in Week 5 to drop to 1-4 on the season. 

Next up, they'll take their three-game losing streak on the road to face the Chicago Bears in Soldier Field on Thursday Night Football.

But when they do, will William Jackson III be on the field? Will he even be in Chicago?

The first question needs to be answered, but the second one is a little overdramatic right now, but I've heard it asked already. 

Noticeably, Jackson came off the field in the first half against the Titans and did not return for the remainder of the game. 

Traditionally, the press box gets a notification of injury and a game status on whether or not to expect the player back.

None came.

But the second half did, and still, no Jackson. And no injury notification. 

So after the game, coach Ron Rivera was asked - as I'm sure he expected, about the status of his cornerback whom the team signed to a three-year deal worth up to $40.5 million during the 2021 offseason. 

"We just decided to make a change," Rivera said after the game when asked about Jackson's absence. 

When pressed for further clarification, Rivera said, "Cause we decided to."

Later, in the locker room, as media gathered to speak with Jackson he attempted to walk out without taking questions. 

“I got nothin to say," Jackson said according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post. "What am I gonna say?”

Well, he did stop and talk to us for a short period, and according to Jackson's version of things his absence had more to do with his back injury than anything. 

According to Jackson, he was playing hurt and trying to tough it out for his team, but at some point brought up that he wasn't able to perform up to standard. 

That's when he came out. 

And the stories got closer to merging during Monday's press conference, but there was still some discrepancies. Rivera did confirm that Jackson was dealing with a back injury.

“Well, for the most part we pulled him and he did have a back, because remember he missed the game with the bad back and I believe that was Philadelphia,” Rivera said.

However, Rivera refused to 100 percent admit that his benching had to do with his injury rather than performance.

So if there's good news for Commanders fans, it's that those answers will come sooner rather than later with a Thursday Night Football contest just a few days away.

You can follow David Harrison on Twitter @DHarrison82.

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