By: Dianna Russini, Jeff Howe, Chad Graff and Daniel Popper
The New England Patriots are acquiring cornerback JC Jackson from the Los Angeles Chargers, a team source confirmed, bringing the former Pro Bowler back less than two years after he left in free agency. Here’s what you need to know:
- New England will trade a 2025 sixth-round pick to Los Angeles, which will send back a 2025 seventh-rounder in Jackson.
- The move comes after New England’s promising rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez suffered a shoulder injury in Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
- Tests on Gonzalez confirmed the Patriots’ worst fears, showing significant damage to the shoulder, according to a team source.
- Jackson hasn’t played in the Chargers’ last two games. When asked if he was healthy before the team’s Week 4 game, he replied: “I’m not 100 percent. I do what I can.”
Why trading makes sense
The Patriots left Dallas last weekend with injuries to their top four cornerbacks. Gonzalez, their star rookie a month into the season, suffered a serious shoulder injury, a source confirmed to The Athletic. Jack Jones and Marcus Jones are both on injured reserve, and Jonathan Jones has missed the last three games with an ankle injury. Therefore, the Patriots needed help as soon as possible, especially as they look to bounce back from the loss they suffered against the Cowboys. And Belichick is always more willing to add players he’s already worked with midseason, hoping their time together so far will make for a smooth transition.
This is still a bit of a gamble for the Patriots, one that may have become necessary due to injuries. Jackson was one of the Chargers’ highest-profile free-agent signings and, after a disappointing 2022, had such a poor start to this season that he was a healthy scratch. But Belichick is clearly confident that the Patriots can turn Jackson back into the star he once was with the Patriots.
They will have to pay him big money this season, but Jackson has no guaranteed money on his contract beyond 2023, so the Patriots can easily restructure his contract after that. For a team in desperate need of cornerback help, the Patriots are signing a guy who was their star just two years ago. – Chad Graff, New England Patriots beat writer
GO DEEPER
By trading for JC Jackson, Bill Belichick is sending the message that the Patriots are not giving up
What went wrong for Jackson with the Chargers?
Less than two years after making Jackson the shining jewel of their 2022 free agency class, the Chargers have quickly and decisively cut contact. The path to this short conclusion can be traced back to the end of August last year. Jackson had just completed a very solid first training camp with the Chargers. There was a lot of excitement about how the cornerback adapted and fit into Brandon Staley’s defensive system. And Jackson had two of his best workouts of the summer, two joint workouts with the Cowboys.
On August 23, Jackson underwent ankle surgery in New York City to remove a bone spur. He missed the season-opening win against the Raiders before returning the following week on Thursday night against the Kansas City Chiefs. Things went downhill after that ankle surgery. Jackson missed the Week 3 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. He returned for Week 4 but struggled in the next three games. He sat on the bench in the second half of the win over the Denver Broncos. In Week 7 against the Seattle Seahawks, he suffered a season-ending torn patellar tendon in his right knee.
By all accounts, public and private, Jackson has attacked this rehab admirably. On the first day of training camp, he was back on the practice field far earlier than planned. And aside from a minor setback in the second week of camp, Jackson was on track for a return to play. He started in Week 1 against Tyreek Hill and the Miami Dolphins and didn’t play well. He started in Week 2 against the Tennessee Titans and showed some signs of improvement.
But in the background inside the building, there were signs that his relationship with the coaching staff was deteriorating. That culminated in Jackson having a healthy lead in Week 3 against Justin Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings. This was a message from the coaching staff, an attempt to revive Jackson’s focus. This obviously didn’t work as intended. Jackson was in uniform and did not play in Sunday’s win against the Las Vegas Raiders. And now he’s on his way to New England, earning more than $45 million in seven starts with the Chargers. – Daniel Popper, Los Angeles Chargers beat writer
Financial Impact of Trade
In terms of cap space, the Chargers will save about $7.4 million on their 2023 roster, based on a Sports Illustrated report that Los Angeles will convert most of Jackson’s remaining base salary into a signing bonus. They could certainly use this in the coming days and weeks to strengthen other areas of the roster – perhaps at receiver, since Mike Williams is out for the season with a torn ACL. Because of the remaining prorated signing bonus on Jackson’s deal, the Chargers will still incur a significant dead money charge of nearly $21 million in 2024.
This was a disastrous contract, one of the worst in Tom Telesco’s eleven years as general manager. Staley deserves some of the blame as he was a strong supporter of signing Jackson. However, the organization deserves credit for cutting ties when it realized the situation with Jackson could not be resolved. – Poppers
Backstory
New England adds a player who enjoyed success during his four seasons in Foxboro. Jackson signed with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and recorded 25 interceptions as a member of the franchise.
The Chargers signed Jackson to a five-year, $82.5 million contract before the 2022 season. In the seventh week of last season, he suffered a season-ending patellar tendon tear.
Jackson remained at the team facility throughout the offseason to rehab the injury and was able to attend the Chargers’ first practice of training camp, putting him ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation process.
Required reading
(Photo: Cooper Neill/Getty Images)