Patriots Rumors: New Details On Why J.C. Jackson Was Punished

J.C. Jackson essentially was benched (along with Jack Jones) to start the Patriots’ home loss to the Washington Commanders last Sunday. And the embattled cornerback reportedly won’t travel with the team to Frankfurt, Germany, for Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Now, we have a better idea of why New England is disciplining Jackson mere weeks after trading for him.

“Patriots CB J.C. Jackson was late to the team hotel on Saturday, per sources,” Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer posted Wednesday on the X Platform. “Which was a part of why he started Sunday’s game vs. the Commanders on the bench. Now, as (Ian Rapoport) said, Jackson won’t be making the trip to Germany. Reliability issues have long plagued Jackson.”

Jeff Howe of The Athletic previously reported Jackson and Jones were benched due to performance issues in recent games. And it’s true that both corners struggled in Weeks 6 through 8 and weren’t effective when given opportunities against the Commanders.

So, perhaps Jackson’s de facto benching/suspension is about a variety of factors, including being late to the team hotel the day before the game against Washington. For those unaware, the Patriots, like many teams, stay in a hotel the night before home games to hold meetings and ensure players aren’t out too late.

At the time of this writing, it was unclear whether similar discipline could be handed down to Jones, who engaged in questionable social media activity following Sunday’s loss. For now, the Patriots will be down at least one of their top cornerbacks for their matchup against the Colts.