Just two years after the Chargers signed J.C. Jackson to a record-setting five-year, $82.5 million contract, Los Angeles has traded the corner back to his former team in New England. The Chargers receive a late-round pick swap and some mild cap relief this year in return. But they’ll also absorb a dead cap charge of $21 million next year.
This isn’t the outcome the team envisioned in March 2022. But there are many reasons why the Chargers and Jackson arrived here.
In August of 2022, elective ankle surgery to remove a bone spur caused a setback for the Bolts’ corner that prevented him from starting the season healthy. Brandon Staley, at the time, called it a “comfort level” procedure for Jackson. He missed the Chargers’ Week 1 contest and returned in Week 2 against Kansas City.
After a few weeks of poor performances where Jackson was a liability in coverage, Staley decided to bench him at halftime against the Broncos on Monday Night Football. Michael Davis took his spot on the outside and the Chargers had a relatively dominant defensive effort in the second half.
Against Seattle later in the season, Jackson had a relatively good first half where it felt like he was finally beginning to fit into the scheme. Late in the second quarter, however, Jackson ruptured his patellar tendon trying to defend Marquise Goodwin in the end zone.
A ruptured patellar tendon demanded a long road to recovery for Jackson. After a long 2023 offseason process, Jackson was able to start training camp on time. He never was placed on the PUP list, unlike some of his former Chargers’ teammates who suffered season-ending injuries.
Throughout training camp, we mostly heard positive signs of Jackson’s recovery. He was never 100%, but he was supposedly getting there. After not being listed on the injury report in Week 1, Jackson was able to start game one of the 2023 season against the Dolphins.
Jackson had what was arguably the worst game of his career. The Chargers’ secondary was horrific on the day and Jackson’s communication with the secondary played a role in that. He allowed three receptions for 99 yards during Tyreek Hill’s explosion. Jackson also committed an egregious pass interference penalty that gifted Miami three points before the end of the half.
Something was wrong with the secondary rotations and how they communicated how easily Miami could get free releases. Miami made a point out of targeting Jackson intentionally, knowing his injury status. In fairness to Jackson, Staley wasn’t exactly putting him in advantageous defensive positions with a lot of single coverage looks.
In Week 3 against Minnesota, Jackson was a healthy scratch for the first time in his Chargers’ career. Against the Raiders, the former Chargers cornerback was active but did not play a single snap.
Throughout his tenure, Jackson ultimately dealt with injury, benchings, drops in the level of play, and numerous rehab processes. For a signing that was supposed to fix the Chargers’ CB1 situation for the foreseeable future, it’s a shame it didn’t play out that way.
Now, the Chargers will start Asante Samuel Jr., Michael Davis, and Ja’Sir Taylor as their main trio. That group performed considerably better as a unit for the secondary relative to the teams’ first two weeks. In the short term, not much changes for the Chargers.
However, the unit is less deep without Jackson. The Chargers have signed Essang Bassey to the active roster after claiming him on waivers, but the gap in NFL experience and functionality between the two players is notable. They’re certainly more susceptible to injuries at the position than they once were.
The interesting questions are long-term. Samuel Jr. will be due a contract extension at some point. Davis is a free agent after the year. Ultimately, the Chargers will undergo a relatively large reconstruction of their secondary outside of Derwin James being a mainstay at safety.
From a team perspective, the Jackson experience was a failure on all fronts. Tom Telesco, as GM, of course, would take a redo on that contract less than two years later. The handling of his injuries and various benchings of Jackson certainly have affected his career. That seems to fall on all parties involved, including Telesco, Staley, and the former Pro Bowl corner.
To the credit of the current regime in charge, moving on was best for all parties instead of trying to make it work because of sunk cost.
The Chargers will simplify things for the rest of the year, but they’re back to square one on finding the future lockdown corner of their defense. Eating Jackson’s dead cap for the next few years will make their financial situation tough in attempting to lure players in free agency. The draft is likely the Bolts’ best bet on finding someone to lead Staley’s defense in the back half, assuming he’s still head coach in 2024.