CHARLOTTE — Mike Jackson had an inkling his time with the Seattle Seahawks was coming to an end just before it did. It started when he was asked to take a pay cut. Then he went to meet with his coach one day and saw something that was very telling.

"When I walk in a coach's office, I ain't going to lie, I be nosy," laughed Jackson, recalling the story this Tuesday. "So I'll be looking around, and I saw the depth chart, and they had a rookie they just drafted, like (sixth) round in front of me. So at that moment I'm like, 'OK, yeah, they're going to get rid of me.'"

He took the knowledge and began mentally preparing himself for what was to come.

"I kind of seen that line, and so it was just like, wherever I go, I just know I'm going to ball," shared Jackson.

He was right.

During training camp that offseason (2024), the Seahawks traded Jackson, who had been a starter at times for them over his three years there, to the Carolina Panthers for rookie seventh-round linebacker Michael Barrett.

"Oh yeah, they got rid of me for a bag of chips," said Jackson. He has gone on to become a full-time starter for the Panthers alongside Jaycee Horn, while the linebacker he was traded for spent 2024 on the practice squads of three teams and, most recently, with the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL.

"So it's just kind of like you don't get mad, you never get mad when somebody shows you how they feel about you," preached Jackson. "So we just kind of take it and keep going. I'm still in the league. I'm still playing ball, so nothing to be mad about."

Not only is he still in the league playing ball, but Jackson is also tied for the league lead with 17 passes defended. He is also seventh on the Panthers with 50 tackles, including four for loss, and three interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown. None of that would have been possible without being traded to the Panthers in the first place.

"It's just bet on yourself. I've been in this league. I done bounced around," said Jackson. "I've been places, I've had coaches laugh in my face, all that. But at the end of the day, I know who I am. So on Sunday, I just come to show up, come ready to play, and that's when you do all your talking."

Some of the action he's seen is because teams don't want to throw towards Horn, the two-time Pro Bowler who didn't see a single target Sunday against the Bucs. And Jackson understands why offenses would rather look his way than Horn's.

"Jaycee's worth 100 million," laughed Jackson, pointing out the obvious. "I said this last week, but you'd rather be scared of him than me. So, that should come with the territory."

But now, the Panthers' CB2 is proving that his "territory" is setting offenses up more so to pick their poison. That could come to life again Sunday against his former team and Hawks quarterback Sam Darnold. The passer is third in the league in total yardage with 3,703 yards, but is also third in the league with the most interceptions thrown, with 13 total, behind only Geno Smith and Tua Tagovailoa.

Jackson insists any motivation will come from the chance to play well, though, and not from any lingering bitterness towards the trade.

"I don't cry over spoiled milk. It's over with. So yeah, I was there. I had a good time, but now I'm here," Jackson promised. "At the end of the day, it's football. I learned when I try to make it personal, then I'll be out there wanting to fight and all that. I don't play my best ball that way, so I'm just going, taking it one day at a time.

"Mike McDaniel is a great coach, but he's not going to be on the field. I'm not literally going to tackle him, (general manager) John (Schneider), and them guys. So it's kind of like, don't take it personal because I can go out there and catch 100 picks. They don't care. They ain't losing sleep at night, so why should I?"

Granted, if he came away with 100 picks, anyone associated with the Seattle Seahawks is likely to lose at least a little sleep over it, but his point stands.

"You can't really get mad over somebody don't want you. It's like a girl said she don't want you. You going to get mad, or you going to go find another girl?"

Mike Jackson chose to do the latter, figuratively speaking, of course. He didn't get upset; he took the opportunity. He's not ready to say he got the last laugh, though.

"Because the laugh ain't over yet," he said. "So I just got to keep playing."