Discussing off-season scenarios for Patriots’ cornerback J.C. Jackson.
After their Week 4 blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys and a season-ending injury to standout rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez, the Patriots decided to bring back an old friend by trading for former Chargers cornerback J.C. Jackson. Jackson spent four seasons with the team before signing a lucrative deal with the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2022 off-season.
Prior to New England’s Week 9 loss to the Commanders, Jackson missed the assigned curfew at the team’s hotel. Ultimately, Jackson was benched against the Commanders and did not fly with the team to Frankfurt, Germany, during Week 10.
Later in the season, Jackson apologetically opened up about his benching to MassLive.com, owning up to his mistake.
“It was a punishment on my behalf, and that’s what it was,” Jackson reiterated to MassLive. “I didn’t take it any other way than: This is punishment, and I hope you learn from it and grow from this mistake I made… It was all my fault. I made a mistake. That’s what you’re going to get from Bill (Belichick). That’s one thing about him: He’s going to discipline no matter who you are.”
Jackson also added that he would like to finish his career in New England, sticking with the team that gave him a chance as an undrafted free agent.
“Reality check: I’m not bigger than the team. I’m not bigger than nobody in here,” Jackson said. “This is a team sport, and I have to do whatever everybody else is doing. I want to be a part of the team. This is my team and this is home for me, man. This is where I want to be. I don’t want to go nowhere else. I want to finish my career here also. I’ve just got to continue to build that leadership each and every day.”
Jackson played a large part in New England’s defense following his punishment, recording some of his most involved games in terms of his snap counts. Unfortunately, that ended abruptly as Jackson was placed on the team’s reserve/non-football illness list following their Week 15 loss to the Chiefs, ending his 2023 season. J.C Jackson’s agent, Neil Schwartz, reported that Jackson was dealing with mental health issues.
As the end of the Patriots’ 2023 season quickly approaches, it is finally time to begin discussing off-season topics. One of those topics being J.C. Jackson’s uncertain future with the organization.
In the deal that sent Jackson back to New England earlier this season, the Chargers paid him an almost $8 million bonus, leaving a mere $1.5 million owed to Jackson that New England would have to cover. Jackson is still owed just over $14 million over the next three seasons of his contract, but none of that money is guaranteed.
Realistically speaking, it is very possible that New England would not want to pay Jackson that type of money. However, because the money on his contract is not guaranteed, New England could cut or trade Jackson at any point this upcoming off-season and not endure a dead money penalty. This scenario also frees up the $14 million owed to Jackson in new cap space for the next three seasons.
If New England is set on retaining Jackson, they could opt to restructure his current contract. Depending on how his contract would be restructured, New England could free up a small amount of cap space for the 2024 season that could be used for regular season transactions, signing 2024 draft selections, and more. A restructure could also free up some cap space in Jackson’s final year of his contract in 2026.
New England could also release Jackson and sign him to a shorter deal, similar to what they did with defensive back Jalen Mills during the 2023 off-season. In March 2023, Mills, who had two years left on his deal at the time, was released by the Patriots and later signed a one-year deal that saved the organization around $3.3 million in cap space. Mills’ base salary and per-game bonuses decreased compared to his former contract. The same could eventually be done for Jackson as the 2024 free agency period nears in the future.
