Were Patriots Close To Re-Signing J.C. Jackson? Doesn’t Sound Like It

J.C. Jackson reportedly agreed to join the Los Angeles Chargers on a massive five-year contract Monday after the NFL legal tampering period opened, ending his four-year tenure as a member of the New England Patriots.

Jackson’s deal reportedly is worth $82.5 million with $40 million guaranteed, and it seems the Patriots were not close to matching that number or bringing Jackson back.

NFL Network’s Mike Giardi tweeted Monday indicating how the Patriots were not in the ballpark for the 26-year-old cornerback.

“Not really,” Giardi’s source said.

Jackson’s deal reportedly will pay him $40 million over the next two seasons and $54 million over the next three. New England’s ability to keep Jackson under team control was greatly impacted by their reluctance to pay Jackson to play on the franchise tag in the 2022 season. From that point on, it felt as if Jackson would command too much on the open market and the Patriots would decline to match.

Jackson previously acknowledged the organization had not been in contact with him.

“I guess they feel like they don’t need me,” Jackson told NBC Sports Boston on Feb. 22, essentially depicting how the end result played out.

Instead, the Patriots now will be tasked with finding a replacement at the No. 1 cornerback spot.