Why Was J.C. Jackson Not ‘Available’ For Patriots Vs. Chiefs?

FOXBORO, Mass. — J.C. Jackson was active for the Patriots’ home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, but he did not play a single snap in the game.

In fact, the veteran cornerback was not even spotted on the sideline during New England’s 27-17 defeat at Gillette Stadium.

Why? Jackson’s teammates didn’t know, and Bill Belichick wouldn’t say.

“He wasn’t available,” Belichick said in his postgame news conference. “We’ll leave it at that.”

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Jackson was at the stadium Sunday, in the locker room before the game and not listed on New England’s injury report. When the Patriots announced their gameday roster 90 minutes before kickoff, he was on it. Reserve cornerback Shaun Wade was not, sitting out as a healthy scratch.

Players expected Jackson to man his usual starting outside cornerback spot opposite J.C. Jackson. Instead, that role fell to rookie Alex Austin, who entered Sunday with 18 career defensive snaps and just made his Patriots debut one week earlier.

Austin played nearly every snap against Kansas City and was competitive, though he was penalized twice. The 22-year-old said he found out just before kickoff that he’d be starting.

“I didn’t expect to start today,” Austin told NESN.com. “But I always go into every game just ready for an opportunity, because you never know when your number will be called. … I found out right when the game started, and I was ready for my opportunity.”

Details about Jackson’s DNP were scarce as of Sunday evening. Defensive end and co-captain Deatrich Wise said he expected Jackson would start against Kansas City. Belichick did not offer any explanation beyond reiterating that the 28-year-old was not “available.”

Whatever caused Jackson not to play must have occurred between the time the inactive list was finalized and when the game kicked off. If the Patriots had known about Jackson’s status earlier, they surely would have had Wade active for additional cornerback depth.

At one point late in the first half, Austin and slot/safety Myles Bryant were the Patriots’ only available cornerbacks. Jones briefly was sidelined by a knee injury but later returned.

“We all know that when a game starts, anything can happen,” Belichick said. “It happened a little bit before that, but (Austin) was ready to play, expected to play, and he played a lot. We’ve talked about that before: It’s everybody’s job to be ready to go, and that’s what we do.”

This has been a tumultuous season for Jackson, who was traded back to the Patriots by the Los Angeles Chargers just 18 months into a five-year, $82.5 million contract. He’s dealt with off-the-field issues since his return, with the Patriots suspending him for their Germany trip after he missed curfew at the team hotel.

Jackson has three years remaining on his contract but can be cut this offseason with no financial penalty. The Patriots would clear $14.4 million in 2024 salary cap space by doing so, per Spotrac.

UPDATE (6:40 p.m. ET): MassLive.com’s Karen Guregian reported Jackson’s absence was the result of a “personal matter coming up” after inactives were announced.