November 7th 2023.
In March 2022, the San Diego Chargers made a bold move by signing former New England Patriots Safety J.C. Jackson to a five-year, $82.5 million contract. It was a move that was met with much fanfare as Jackson was coming off a second team All-Pro selection.
However, just one year into the contract, the Chargers traded Jackson back to the Patriots for a later round pick. This prompted Chargers General Manager Tom Telesco to apologize to the defensive backs during a meeting ahead of their 20-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. According to ESPN’s Kris Rhim, Telesco admitted to the team that signing Jackson was a mistake and apologized for continuing to give Jackson opportunities to play despite his lack of commitment in comparison to the rest of the team, despite him being one of the highest paid players.
The situation came to a head in week 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders, when Jackson refused to enter the game despite the team's need due to safety Michael Davis injuring his ankle in the third quarter. After this, Jackson was traded back to the Patriots, who needed a safety after rookie Christian Gonzalez suffered a torn labrum and a separated shoulder.
Jackson isn’t the first Patriot who signed a big contract with a new team and didn’t live up to expectations. Following the 2008 season, Matt Cassel signed a six-year, $63 million deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. Despite guiding the Patriots to an 11-win season, Cassel went just 19-28 during his four seasons in KC and Chiefs fans cheered when he was knocked out of a home game against the Baltimore Ravens during his last season. Other players who left New England and signed lucrative deals with other teams, only to disappoint, include wide receivers David Givens and Reche Caldwell and defensive back Ellis Hobbs.
Since returning to the Patriots, Jackson has played all five of their games, collecting 14 combined tackles, 12 solo tackles and three passes defended. The Chargers organization had believed Jackson had a lackadaisical attitude when it came to practice and didn’t respond well to coaching, something that many fans find hard to believe considering Bill Belichick’s strict attention to detail and his insistence on players always practicing.
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