The Denver Broncos waived safety Kareem Jackson on Monday, a Christmas transaction that took Alabama’s longest tenured alumnus off an NFL roster.

The Broncos faced a Monday deadline to restore Jackson to their 53-player active roster. Denver had received a roster exemption for Jackson last week as he practiced for the first time after serving a four-game suspension imposed by the NFL.

The Broncos did not return Jackson to the roster for Sunday night’s 26-24 loss to the New England Patriots, and the roster exemption ran out at 3 p.m. CST Monday.

Jackson had started the eight games for which he was available this season. But Jackson has had to sit out six games because of NFL suspensions.

A first-round draft choice from Alabama’s 2009 BCS national-championship team, Jackson is in his 14th NFL season. Among Crimson Tide alumni, only Chris Mohr, Howard Cross and Cornelius Bennett have played in more NFL regular-season games than Jackson’s 201 and only Bennett has started more games than Jackson’s 193.

With Jackson off the Denver roster, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Julio Jones becomes Alabama’s senior NFL player. Jones started his NFL career in 2011.

On Nov. 20, the NFL suspended Jackson for four games for his hit on Minnesota Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs on the third snap of the Broncos’ 21-20 victory the previous day. Denver recovered Dobbs’ fumble on the Vikings 30-yard line and got to keep it since no penalty was called.

But in a letter sent to Jackson notifying him of his suspension, Jon Runyan, the NFL’s vice president of football operations, asserted Jackson had violated Rule 12, Section 2, Article 10 (a) of the NFL rulebook, which states: “It is a foul if a player lowers his head and makes forcible contact with his helmet against an opponent.”

Runyan wrote: “With 13:38 remaining in the first quarter, you were involved in a play that the league considers a serious violation of the playing rules. The video of the play shows that you lowered your head and made forcible contact to Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs. You had an unobstructed path to your opponent, and the illegal contact could have been avoided.

“Illegal acts that are flagrant and jeopardize the safety of players will not be tolerated. The league will continue to stress enforcement of the rules that prohibit using your helmet to make forcible contact with your opponent. On the play in question, you lowered your head and delivered a forceful blow to the shoulder and head/neck area of an opponent when you had time and space to avoid such contact. You could have made contact with your opponent within the rules, yet you chose not to.”

Jackson appealed the suspension, but the NFL’s decision was upheld – a different outcome from Jackson’s appeal of his first suspension of the 2023 season.

On Oct. 23, the NFL suspended Jackson for four games for a hit in the Broncos’ 19-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers the previous day. On the third snap of the fourth quarter, Jackson brought down Packers tight end Luke Musgrave with what was judged a helmet-to-helmet hit at the end of an 18-yard reception. Jackson was penalized for unnecessary roughness and disqualified from further participation.

Runyan cited Rule 12, Section 2, Article 9 (b)(1) when he suspended Jackson that time. That rule states: “It is a foul if a player forcibly hits the defenseless player’s head or neck area with the helmet, face mask, forearm or shoulder, even if the initial contact is lower than the player’s neck, and regardless of whether the defensive player also uses his arms to tackle the defenseless player by encircling or grasping him.”

Jackson appealed the suspension to the hearing officers jointly appointed and compensated by the NFL and NFL Players Association to decide appeals of on-field player discipline, and Derrick Brooks reduced the suspension to two games.

Jackson was fined by the NFL four times for unnecessary roughness in the first six weeks of the 2023 season. Twice the fines stemmed from penalties called on the field.

The NFL fined Jackson $14,819 in Week 1, $19,669 in Week 2, $11,473 in Week 3 and $43,709 in Week 6.

In Denver’s 35-33 loss to Washington on Sept. 17, Jackson was penalized and ejected for a hit on Commanders tight end Logan Thomas on a touchdown reception with 1:47 left in the first half.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.