He had never missed a game in his NFL career until this past week. 
“Without a doubt it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” he said. “I definitely want to be out there helping my teammates as much as possible. To be sidelined and watching from a couch last week, this week I want to try and get down on the sideline but it’s still tough.”
Jackson was on pace to have one of the seven most prolific individual seasons in terms of total yards from scrimmage in league history. His rushing exploits were well documented, but through the first eight games he ranked third in the league with 381 yards after the catch. Big plays made him the catalyst for Buffalo’s offense.
Now he’s been forced into the role of cheerleader after the decision was made to place him on injured reserve with his broken fibula.
“They said it would be 4-6 weeks,” Jackson said. “They said with as much cutting and running and stuff like that, it would probably be closer to six weeks. They made the decision that they have to move forward in and it’s one that I have to respect. Obviously I want to be out there and play as much as possible but I couldn’t ask them to stand around and wait on me.”
Scheduled for more x-rays in three weeks, Jackson is already allowed to hobble around without crutches provided he’s not going for a long walk. Knowing he’d be back to full health long before the Pro Bowl, Jackson was confident he’s be able to participate in the Pro Bowl had he been selected for the AFC squad. Tuesday he found out I-R’d players are not eligible.
“It was a goal of mine to start the season, to get to the Pro Bowl and not to be able to do that, again because of the injury, is just the icing on the cake to how disappointed I am,” he said. “I wanted to play for the Bills fans one more time and I can’t do that now.”
Seeing his most promising season cut short and Pro Bowl consideration now off the table, Jackson has plenty of added motivation to come back stronger in 2012.
“It’s just going to be fuel to the fire coming back next year and try to help my team because it’s not the way I wanted it to end,” he said.
What will be ending at the conclusion of the 2012 season is his current contract. Jackson expressed dissatisfaction with his deal earlier this season, but after speaking with GM Buddy Nix he’s confident the organization will do right by him this offseason.
“I felt like I did as much as I could,” he said. “That hopefully will just take care of itself. It’s not something I’m going to worry about right now. I put faith in Buddy and that’s all I can do. He’s a man of his word so I’ll have faith in him and see what happens. I’ll let my play speak for itself.”
