New Report Reveals Why J.C. Jackson Was Traded To Patriots

The “last straw” of J.C. Jackson’s regrettable Los Angeles Chargers tenure came in his final game with the franchise.

Jackson, who’d been a healthy inactive the previous week, dressed for last Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders but refused to enter the game after fellow cornerback Michael Davis suffered a third-quarter injury, according to a report Sunday from NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.

Davis wound up playing all but one defensive snap as the Chargers won 24-17, with Jackson playing zero.

From NFL.com:

Sources say Jackson repeatedly refused to go into the game against the Raiders on Oct. 1, standing on the sideline with his shoes untied even when a teammate was banged up and needed to come off the field.

Multiple coaches attempted to persuade Jackson — a healthy scratch for the Chargers’ Week 3 game against Minnesota — to enter the game in the third quarter after Michael Davis injured his ankle. Jackson refused, saying, among other things, that he wasn’t warm enough to play, per sources.

The Chargers were done with Jackson after that in-game dispute. Days later, they traded him back to his original team, the New England Patriots, for next to nothing, receiving only a 2025 late-round pick swap in the deal and also agreeing to pay the vast majority of Jackson’s remaining 2023 salary.

The Patriots reportedly will pay Jackson just $1.56 million for the rest of this season, which would be a bargain if he can even approximate his level of play from his most recent New England campaign. The 27-year-old had eight interceptions and 23 passes defended for the Patriots in 2021, earning Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors before signing a five-year, $82.5 million contract with the Chargers and quickly nosediving.

The Patriots badly need Jackson to help shore up a cornerback group that’s dealing with injuries to Christian Gonzalez, Jonathan Jones, Jack Jones and Marcus Jones. He reportedly is expected to play Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.