'Definitely cherishing it': Lions' Pro Bowl guard reflective as contract nears expiration

Allen Park — Jonah Jackson was just trying to enjoy the ride. Now, it's unclear if the Detroit Lions guard will play another snap for the only NFL team he's ever known.

Jackson suffered a knee injury in the second quarter of Sunday's playoff win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It's reportedly a meniscus issue, one that required surgery to fix. The team has all but ruled him out this week's game, but are keeping the door open for a potential Super Bowl return, assuming they can get past the San Francisco 49ers without him in Sunday's NFC Championship.

Like most of the players in Detroit's locker room, Jackson had not experienced the NFL postseason prior to this year. He was reveling in the moment, absorbing the feeling he was part of franchise history.

"Oh yeah, definitely," Jackson said ahead of the game against the Buccaneers. "I felt it as soon as I walked into the stadium on Sunday. It's definitely something you can enjoy, but what's even more exciting is what's ahead, what's to come, if we do what we need to do and handle our business."

In what should come as a surprise to no one, the 330-pound Jackson has compared Detroit's run this season to a multi-course meal. The teams' first division title in 30 years, that was the appetizer. The playoff win, some other small plate, soup maybe. But the Super Bowl? That's the entree. That's the bone-in, 24-ounce steak.

The thought of winning it all has had Jackson salivating.

He has played a big role in the Lions reaching these unfamiliar heights. As a third-round draft pick in 2020, he immediately stepped into the starting lineup and played every snap that season. He kept that ironman streak going until late December in his second year, when a back injury shelved him for a week.

The injuries have been a little more troublesome over the past two years. A broken finger, suffered in practice, sidelined him for three games in 2022. And ankle, wrist and now knee injuries have limited him this season.

"It sucks," center Frank Ragnow said. "He's tough now. He's battled through some things and it's just like, sometimes it just happens. I'm a prime example of that. I feel like when you start to look at yourself, you start to question yourself, like why do I keep getting injured? He's battled this season. And for him to battle back (from the ankle and wrist), then he was rolling, and for this to happen, it's frustrating and I feel for him. But I mean, I just saw him in (the training room) rehabbing. He's got a great attitude. I got confidence that he'll be all right."

Remember, we're talking about a man who earned Pro Bowl honors in 2021, is an alternate this year, has made 59 starts, if you count the two playoff games, and is eight snaps shy of 4,000 in a Lions uniform. Jackson has done all that as part of the team's best position group, the engine that makes the offense run, according to coordinator Ben Johnson.

But, the reality is Jackson might not play another one for the Honolulu blue. Whether the Lions advance to the franchise's first Super Bowl or not, there's no guarantee he will be medically cleared for the finale. And he's on the final year of his rookie contract, with the two sides unable to come to terms on an extension this offseason.

They tried. Jackson's agent was in town during training camp, and there were talks, but it never really got close. Assuming the recent rash of injuries hasn't depressed the soon-to-be 27-year-old's value, which seems unlikely, Jackson is in line for a deal that could pay him double-digit millions per season.

The Lions, meanwhile, have big money already tied up in Ragnow and left tackle Taylor Decker. Plus they're staring down a market-resetting extension for Penei Sewell sometime in the next 18 months. Trying to reward Jackson what he's worth might simply prove to be unrealistic.

Like any impending free agent, it's a weight a player must bury in the back of their mind if they're going to perform at their best. Jackson believes he's done that as well as he possibly could this season.

"You start worrying about being something you're not, trying to go outside of what you are, trying to be some superstar, you start to get off track," Jackson said. "That takes you away from the main thing, and that's winning. As long as you win, play well, everything will figure itself out. Plus, I can't control any of that. I'm not upstairs negotiating numbers. I leave that to my agent and he'll figure that out."

Jackson said he has no idea which way things are trending, either way, in part because he asked his agent, former NFL offensive lineman Bill Contay, to let him focus on football once the season started.

But Jackson has been trying to stop and smell the roses this year. He's formed lifelong bonds with the guys in his room, particularly Decker, Sewell, Ragnow and position coach Hank Fraley. They hang out outside of work, their wives are friends; even their parents all know each other. Jackson has joked about naming Ragnow the godfather of his next child.

So, if Jackson has played his last snap in Detroit, it means he's played his last snap with some of the best friends he'll ever make.

"I never know when it can be my last game here, playing with these guys," Jackson said. "This group, when I came here, I was a man, but I was still a kid. You're a young buck, a rookie, and the way they've helped me mature, just being role models, then the way I've helped other, younger players, there's nothing like that group, that room. Hank, I mean, that's my guy. I don't think anyone outside of maybe one college coach that's had a bigger impact on me than him. I'm definitely cherishing it."

But who knows? For a group that already goes out for weekly dinners together, maybe Jackson will get back in time to share the ultimate entree: A big, juicy Super Bowl.

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

@Justin_Rogers

NFC Championship

Lions at 49ers

▶ Kickoff: 6:30 p.m., Sunday, Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California

▶ TV/radio: FOX/97.1

▶ Records: Detroit (12-5), San Francisco (12-5)

▶ Line: 49ers by 7

AFC Championship

Chiefs at Ravens

▶ Kickoff: 3 p.m., Sunday, M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore

▶ TV/radio: CBS

▶ Records: Kansas City (11-6), Baltimore (13-4)

▶ Line: Ravens by 3 1/2