Ex-Patriots Corner Ready To Play This Season After Major Injury

It was unclear whether former New England Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson would be ready for the start of this season after suffering a major knee injury in 2022.

But Jackson's name not appearing on the Los Angeles Chargers injury report Wednesday confirmed he's good to go for the season opener Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.

And if that wasn't enough, Jackson exuded confidence that he feels ready to play after tearing the patellar tendon in his right knee last October.

"Mentally and physically, I'm feeling good," Jackson told reporters, per Omar Navarro and Eric Smith of Chargers.com.

Jackson added: "I'm not putting any limit on my knee. I'm ready."

Chargers head coach Brandon Staley took a more measured approach when discussing Jackson's return and didn't reveal what kind of role the Pro Bowl corner will have in the first game of the season.

"He's practiced well and we'll see how it goes in the game," Staley told reporters, per Chargers.com. "He's looked like himself."

The same couldn't be said of Jackson during his first campaign with the Chargers. He missed two of the first three games of the season as he recovered from ankle surgery he underwent just prior to the campaign, and then he turned in lackluster play over five games -- he failed to record an interception -- before the significant injury knocked him out for the rest of the season.

After four successful seasons with the Patriots in which he totaled 25 interceptions, Jackson signed a five-year, $82.5 million contract with the Chargers last offseason.

And Jackson will look to live up to that deal by pushing himself to be ready to play come Sunday.

"Me being out there now, it shows the organization and the team that I want to play football," Jackson said. "I had a terrible injury last season. But even the doctors have said I'm way ahead of schedule. I'm doing things at my pace, not their pace.

"That's me showing everyone that I'm here to play football. I'm not here for anything else."