Tag: JC Jackson

10 potential Jets free agent targets who could be franchise tagged

There’s a chance some of the Jets’ top free agent targets don’t hit the open market. A look at some franchise tag candidates:

Free agency is the time for the Jets to pay for quick fixes at positions of need.

There are a lot of great targets for the Jets this spring, but not all impending free agents will hit the open market. Some teams will franchise tag their best players in the hopes of keeping them around on a cheaper, one-year deal, giving themselves more time to negotiate a long-term extension, or facilitating a trade with another team.

Here are 10 potential Jets free agent targets who could be franchise tagged before they hit the open market.

Brian Baldinger breaks down Stefon Diggs’ Thanksgiving feast (video)

Brian Baldinger breaks down Stefon Diggs’ Thanksgiving feast (video):

NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger is back this week highlighting the intense matchup Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs had against New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore on Thanksgiving in Week 12.

Of course, the two already had some history with Lattimore whiffing on a tackle that led to one of the greatest moments in NFL history while Diggs was with the Minnesota Vikings.

Diggs didn’t sprint fifty yards down the sideline this time but he did beat Lattimore for a touchdown with some fancy footwork at the goal line.

The All-Pro wide receiver finished his night with seven catches for 74 yards and a touchdown. Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen targeted him nine times.

In breaking down the film, Baldinger called it a “must-watch matchup” between Diggs and Lattimore.

Check out Baldinger’s breakdown below:

In Week 13, Diggs will have an equally tough matchup against one of the best up-and-coming corners in the league in J.C. Jackson of the New England Patriots Patriots. Diggs will have to be at the top of his game again to help the Bills secure the victory over the division-leading Pats.

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ESPN’s Mike Reiss thinks Stephon Gilmore’s holdout will be positive for Patriots

ESPN’s Mike Reiss has a positive hunch about Stephon Gilmore’s future with the Patriots.

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There’s been uncertainty surrounding Stephon Gilmore’s status with the New England Patriots since the end of the 2020 season.

Gilmore, 30, is entering the final year of his five-year contract and is only set to make $7 million. The former Defensive Player of the Year won’t play for that low of a price and he made that clear by sitting out during the Patriots’ mandatory minicamp. Because Gilmore missed minicamp, he was set to be fined $93,085.

He’s also nursing a quad injury that put him out for the remainder of the 2020 season, but the contract issue seems to be the primary focus. ESPN’s Mike Reiss wrote a column on Sunday with his thoughts on the topic and he has a positive takeaway.

Cornerback Stephon Gilmore didn’t report to mandatory minicamp, and while some holdouts can become acrimonious, my sense on Gilmore’s mindset is different. He seems to enjoy being a Patriot, is open to sticking around, and this was his least-expensive-but-most-decisive way of sparking more productive contract talks with the team, so he can feel better about being part of New England’s present and future.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler followed up with another promising note for the Patriots.

Gilmore already expressed interest in staying with the Patriots and there’s a solid chance that happens.

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Here’s the status for Stephon Gilmore, Cam Newton at Patriots mandatory minicamp

The 30-year-old CB will likely hold out in search of a restructured contract.

New England Patriots star cornerback Stephon Gilmore isn’t present at Monday’s mandatory minicamp, according to the Boston Globe’s Jim McBride.

Gilmore, 30, is set to make $7 million on the final year of his contract and that’d give him the seventh-highest base salary in the NFL at his position. There was a level of anticipation that Gilmore would miss minicamp, and lose out on $93,085, to gain leverage in restructuring his contract.

As NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport noted, Gilmore is also rehabbing his partially torn quad that sidelined him for the remainder of the season in 2020.  The Patriots still have money remaining and will likely need to give Gilmore the pay raise.

Also with anticipation, Cam Newton is present and ready to go for minicamp.

Newton suffered a slight bone bruise early in June that looked like it would sideline him until training camp, but he’s ready to go for the three-day session.

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Ian Rapoport explains why JC Jackson isn’t a roster lock for 2021 season

Despite signing his second-round tender, JC Jackson could still find himself elsewhere this season.

The secondary has been one of the most secure position groups for the New England Patriots over the past few years.

Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung held down the safety roles while Stephon Gilmore, Jason McCourty and JC Jackson primarily held down the cornerback position. When other groups were depleted or short of talent, the secondary was able to balance the defense out.

Gilmore and Jackson are two major pieces of that group and the status of both players for the 2021 season has been far from solidified. Gilmore’s on contract, but likely won’t play for the $7 million he’s set to make. Jackson signed his second-round tender on Friday, but that still doesn’t lock his spot on the roster for next season.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport further explained the reasoning for this.

“This is not the end of the story because while this means he’s not going to sign the an offer sheet, or a restricted free agent offer sheet with anyone, it doesn’t necessarily mean he is going to be on the team next year,” Rapoport said, transcribed by WEEI. “What the team could do, and we saw this with Malcolm Butler with the Patriots several years back, is they could offer a lower draft pick than a second-rounder to potentially trade for JC Jackson. A trade that would also come with a contract extension. I would expect that at some point to come up in conversations from other teams.”

He also gave a quick update on Gilmore.

“[Stephon Gilmore] is recovering from a torn quad, and recovering very well. It sounds like that’s going good,” he said. “But, it does make doing something with him right now … difficult. Because it would be a little bit of a speculation-type move based on how he is recovering and all that. We thought this might be someone who a team could potentially trade for, now maybe someone New England locks in on a contract extension down the road. Still one of the best players in football regardless of position.”

Jason McCourty is drawing interest from multiple teams and it’s unlikely that he’ll return to Foxborough. The Patriots have some work to do and bringing back at least one of the top-tier corners should be priority.

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CB J.C. Jackson signs RFA tender with the Patriots

Friday, the Patriots tendered cornerback J.C. Jackson.

The New England Patriots made a move on Friday as they put a second-round tender on cornerback J. C. Jackson.

With Jackson signing the tender, this means that he does not get an offer sheet. However, the Patriots can still offer draft picks and formulate a trade. Jackson is probably a restricted free agent.

Jackson was a key contributor to the New England secondary last year. He recorded 14 pass deflections and nine interceptions on the season,. His best game came in the opener against the Miami Dolphins. In that contest, he recorded two pass deflections and an interception.  He would record interceptions in five straight games from October 18 to November 15.

Although this does not guarantee that Jackson will be on the roster in 2021, it does signify that the Patriots want him to remain in the organization.

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Report: Stephon Gilmore ‘very open’ to signing extension with Patriots

The 31-year-old may find himself back with the Patriots this season.

Stephon Gilmore’s future has been extremely murky since the end of the last season.

The 31-year-old is entering the final year on his five-year, $65 million contract but he’s only due $7 million for 2021. It’s been made clear that Gilmore won’t play for such a low price tag and it also makes sense to trade him this offseason to get the maximum value. For these reasons, along with his age, it seemed likely that Bill Belichick would let him go. It also didn’t make sense to extend Gilmore’s contract if the Patriots were to look like the 7-9 team they were last season.

But, the Patriots revamped the roster this offseason and could very likely be in contention for a deep playoff run. It would make much more sense now to give Gilmore slightly more money on an extension and keep the 2019 Defense Player of the Year around.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, Gilmore is very open to signing a deal with the Patriots. Here’s what Breer said in his column on Monday.

I wouldn’t rule out a Stephon Gilmore … extension. I do believe it’s unlikely that Gilmore plays the 2020 season for $7 million, which is what he’s on the books for. And I think, as an acknowledgment of that, and on the heels of a very newsworthy couple weeks, the Patriots will at least explore the idea of extending Gilmore. Could they still trade him? Sure. Was moving $4.5 million from 2021 to 2020 in his deal—the contractual equivalent of a cash advance—an acknowledgement on both sides that the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year was probably going to be seeking his final big NFL payday somewhere else in 2021? At the time, it was. But a couple things have changed since.

First, Gilmore got hurt, and his torn quad makes it tougher for the Patriots to get fair value in a trade, and tougher for another team to make a long-term commitment. Second, the Patriots roster are a lot closer to being a contender than they were two months ago, with Dont’e Hightower back off his 2020 opt-out, and high-end, in-their-prime free agents Matthew Judon, Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith joining the roster, in addition to complementary pieces like Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne. Bottom line: If the Patriots think Gilmore has, say, three more good years left in him (and they know better than anyone else how the 30-year-old has taken care of his body) and they don’t want to pay promising young corner J.C. Jackson like a premier DB, you can certainly see where it’d make sense. I’m also told, for what it’s worth, that Gilmore would be very open to signing a new deal in New England.

The Patriots placed a second-round tender on Jackson, meaning they could lose him if another team signs him to an offers sheet and New England doesn’t match. Jason McCourty is still an unrestricted free agent — so the Patriots could potentially be slim at cornerback.

New England is clearly much better off with Gilmore leading the secondary, so it’s hard to believe a deal won’t transpire

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What JC Jackson said about facing Stefon Diggs: ‘You’ve got to almost be perfect’

New England Patriots CB JC Jackson on Buffalo Bills WR Stefon Diggs.

Patriots cornerback JC Jackson wasn’t put on a poster or anything like that against the Bills on Monday Night Football. But an image of him is burned into the minds of many in western New York.

Jackson, who’s having a fantastic season himself with eight interceptions, had something to say to Stefon Diggs early in the game. A pass to the Buffalo wideout fell incomplete in the end zone and the two got into a bit of a discussion.

From there, it was game on and Diggs was the victor.

Jackson was not the only guy covering Diggs the entire game, but just against New England’s secondary in general, Diggs had nine catches for 145 yards with a whopping three touchdowns. After his outburst, Diggs explained the exchange and it sure sounded motivational.

“He was saying, ‘Don’t play with me’ and doing the No Fly Zone thing,” Diggs said. “I don’t really like that very much. I don’t take too kindly to that. So I was just like, ‘Relax.’”

While maybe Jackson took Diggs’ advice… the receiver did anything but relax with the game he had… And if there’s another image taken from this game, it’s of Diggs waving back at Patriots (6-9) defenders just before he scores. One of the two nearby ones was Jackson.

As the contest continued, at one point, Jackson was replaced temporarily by Joejuan Williams before he was allowed back on the field.

When asked, Jackson declined to comment on why that was the case. The proof is probably in the pudding, though. He got benched.

But after the battled ended, it sounded as if Jackson did a piece of humble pie with him. He admitted that the Bills (12-3) wideout… was an experience, a worthwhile one.

“I learned from it that each play, you can’t take any reps off,” Jackson said. “You can’t fall asleep, you’ve got to be alert and ready every play when you’re playing a receiver like that. He’s a playmaker, he comes back to the ball better than any receiver in the league. He’s got great hands. You’ve got to almost be perfect when you’re guarding somebody like that. You’ve got to almost have perfect coverage in man-to-man.”

Diggs doesn’t take away from Jackson’s strong season overall. He’s probably one of the NFL’s bigger Pro Bowl snubs. Perhaps that got Jackson’s head too big because of so many analysts and other folks telling him that, causing a down game for him.

But if he’s going to learn from this… hopefully he’s going to take that to another team. Jackson will be a restricted free agent after the year.

Or maybe facing Diggs twice a year will scare him off.

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Patriots have lengthy injury report for primetime showdown with Jets

New England has several players ailing heading into Monday night’s game.

Heading into Monday night’s game against the Jets, the New England Patriots have a few players on the mend.

Running back J.J. Taylor and wide receiver N’Keal Harry are out for Monday night’s game against New York. 17 players are questionable. Notable names on the questionable portion of the list include Stephon Gilmore, and JC Jackson. They, along with the other 15 players were limited at practice on Sunday.

For New England, they will look to capture their third win of the season, while New York is winless. If they are to secure a win, it will be with a severely undermanned team. See the full list below:

OUT
WR N’Keal Harry (concussion)
RB J.J. Taylor (illness)

DOUBTFUL
No Players Listed

QUESTIONABLE
LB Ja’Whaun Bentley (groin)
LB Shilique Calhoun (knee)
DT Carl Davis (concussion)
S Cody Davis (calf)
S Kyle Dugger (ankle)
K Nick Folk (back)
CB Stephon Gilmore (knee)
DL Lawrence Guy (shoulder, elbow and knee)
RB Damien Harris (ankle)
TE Ryan Izzo (hamstring)
CB J.C. Jackson (knee)
TE Dalton Keene (knee)
G Shaq Mason (calf)
DE John Simon (elbow)
G Joe Thuney (ankle)
DE Deatrich Wise (knee, hand)
OT Isaiah Wynn (ankle)

It will be interesting to see how New England makes up for these losses and injuries. In what has been a difficult season already, this certainly looks like an uphill climb.

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Best of AFC East: Division boasts top talent in secondary

Rankings the secondary units in the AFC East heading into 2020.

NFL defensive coordinators and general managers are catching up with the rest of the league. The NFL is leaning toward a pass-happy contest, and that means defenses have had to find a way to defend against the aerial attack in a multitude of ways. The best way teams have found in combating that is to find defensive backfield talent, and the AFC East reflects that.

The secondary may be the most talented position among any group as a whole within the division. On a few different AFC East teams, the secondary might be the strongest-overall unit… and by a lot.

So who has the best of those squads? Here’s Bills Wire’s rankings of the AFC East’s secondaries:

Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore. Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

1. New England Patriots

The Patriots have a stellar group of players in their secondary, as hard as it is to admit. Stephon Gilmore has been at the top of the cornerback charts for the past few seasons. He’s been named an All-Pro in each of the past two seasons and was 2019’s Defensive Player of the Year. He tied for the league lead with six interceptions and led the league with 20 passes defensed. Gilmore was graded as the No. 1 cornerback by Pro Football Focus in 2019.

Opposite Gilmore is Jason McCourty and JC Jackson. Jonathan Jones gives this cornerback spot great depth, but the Pats didn’t even stand pat there recently. The Lions traded cornerback Michael Jackson to New England last weekend, adding further depth pieces at cornerback.

Devin McCourty has been among the top safeties in the league in recent memory. The veteran recorded five interceptions last year. But it’s all perfect for the Pats.

The only knock on the unit is how will they fill in the gap left by Patrick Chung, an 11-year veteran who opted out of this upcoming season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But there’s a few potential options.

The Pats drafted Kyle Duggar in the second-round of the 2020 draft. Duggar is a versatile player who can be a presence at the line of scrimmage. Adrian Phillips, a 2018 All-Pro, will be looked upon to fill the void as well. He missed time last year due to a forearm injury. If he’s completely healthy, Phillips should garner starting snaps for this unit. But even without Chung, this secondary won’t be coming into New England a stroll in the park in 2020… even without Tom Brady.

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