Jackson's second coming

The Super Bowl MVP is thrilled to be back playing for the Bucs.

By JOANNE KORTH
Published November 18, 2004

	[Times file photo]
	Super Bowl XXXVII MVP Dexter Jackson says he is happy to be back with the Bucs after his stint in Arizona.

TAMPA - Safety Dexter Jackson stood in front of a crowd of reporters and television cameras in the Bucs locker room Wednesday. On Sunday, he will play in a packed stadium.

It's good to be home.

Jackson, the Super Bowl MVP for Tampa Bay two seasons ago, left the Bucs for a lucrative free-agent contract with the Cardinals but still is searching for his happy ending. Recovered from a back injury that prompted Arizona to release him, Jackson is looking for a new start with his old team. And the Bucs could use a boost.

"It's good to have these cameras in my face again," Jackson said. "I'm at home."

Jackson was in no hurry to leave the Bucs in the first place. A fourth-round draft pick out of Florida State in 1999, he came of age as a safety during four seasons with Tampa Bay. But the NFL is a business and Arizona offered a payday he could not turn down.

Jackson signed a five-year, $14-million contract with a $2.75-million signing bonus. In 2003, he had his best season as a professional with 105 tackles and a career-high six interceptions for the 4-12 Cardinals. But all was not as rosy for Jackson as the losses mounted and home crowds dwindled.

"It was different," Jackson said. "Coming from an organization where everybody loves everybody to an organization where there's turmoil and nobody cares about each other, there's a big difference. I was happy there, but I wasn't happy. They didn't have the same intensity. They didn't want to win. I want to win. I guess I was destroying myself from the inside out."

Last summer, the destruction reached his lower back. Jackson was injured during minicamp but played another two weeks before the pain became unbearable. He claims the Arizona medical staff misdiagnosed his injury, that not until he sought a second opinion did a bulging disc in his back begin to heal.

So, add Jackson to the growing list of current and former Bucs - Simeon Rice, Michael Pittman and Thomas Jones - relieved to escape the Cardinals organization.

"I trusted my heart and went there," Jackson said. "I can't say I made a mistake. Sometimes people aren't always as genuine as they seem. But I made that decision; I can't ever regret it."

The Cardinals put Jackson on partial injured reserve before the start of the season, forfeiting their rights to the sixth-year pro. Jackson worked hard to rehabilitate his back, which did not require surgery, and waited impatiently until he was ready to play again. He signed a one-year contract Tuesday with the Bucs.

Former teammates were glad to see him.

"I missed the guy, missed his energy," cornerback Ronde Barber said. "He lives up to the standard that we preach and he's always been that way. I don't think he'll ever change. He probably rubbed some people the wrong way out in Arizona, to tell you the truth. But that's what we need. We need guys like that on this team."

Jackson, 27, is the second former Bucs defensive standout to return in as many weeks. Lineman Chidi Ahanotu, tagged the Bucs franchise player in 1999, returned last week in the wake of several injuries. Jackson's return fills a need created by injuries to starting safeties Jermaine Phillips, out with a fractured arm, and Dwight Smith, questionable against the 49ers with a knee sprain.

"I don't know what's in the air, but I like the old guys and the old Bucs that I played with," Ahanotu said. "We know how to play this defense and it's definitely going to add to the team."

Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin was impressed with Jackson's ability to step into Wednesday's practice routine after two years away and several months out of football.

"How much he'll play, we'll have to wait and see how the whole week goes," Kiffin said. "There's some changes since he left two years ago, but he's a sharp guy. It is good to see him and Chidi.

"Where's Martin Mayhew?"

Jackson, who has not played in nearly a year, expects to contribute on special teams and play sparingly in the secondary. Defensive backs coach Mike Tomlin has other ideas.

"I'm a little greedy," said Tomlin, who worked with Jackson in 2001-02. "Hopefully by the end of the week he'll come around to my way of thinking. Dexter loves to play football. He'll take every snap we give him, and I'm going to make sure he's tired."

Jackson is eager to prove he is healthy and still the top-flight safety who intercepted two passes in the first half of the Bucs' victory against the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII.

"For right now, I just want to show people that I'm well," Jackson said. "If the Bucs want to extend that, I'm open to that. If not, I'm happy they gave me a chance. I'll always have this place in my heart as home."

[Last modified November 18, 2004, 00:15:17]