The New England Patriots were entrenched in a multi-year contract dispute with Stephon Gilmore. That came to a conclusion — admittedly an ugly breakup — on Wednesday when Bill Belichick agreed to trade Gilmore to the Carolina Panthers. And while Gilmore’s contract saga came to a conclusion, the team’s contract standoff with cornerback J.C. Jackson may just be heating up.
The Patriots could have retained Gilmore with a contract extension. Instead, they cut the cord. That increases the importance of Jackson, who is slated to be an unrestricted free agent on Jackson in 2022. If he leaves, the Patriots would be left with cornerbacks Jalen Mills, Jonathan Jones, Joejuan Williams and Justin Bethel. That group would be in desperate need of an upgrade.
This offseason, the Patriots placed a second-round tender on Jackson in restricted free agency, almost daring teams to go after the player who has been a legitimate No. 1 cornerback through four weeks of the season (and, frankly, going into last season when Gilmore suffered a quad injury). No team made an offer to Jackson, who returned to New England on a one-year deal worth $3.4 million. He made a small indication he’s already displeased with his contract situation.
Looking ahead to next offseason, Jackson is eligible for the franchise tag to prevent him from hitting the open market. The Patriots last used the tag on guard Joe Thuney in hopes of signing the player to a long-term deal which never came. He instead signed with the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason. With Jackson, he hasn’t always been the perfect Patriot, which Thuney was. Jackson has occasionally talked trash about upcoming and former opponents. It’s unclear whether they’d give him the tag. And while lucrative, the franchise-tag contract probably wouldn’t provide the level of financial security that Jackson is likely searching. That’s a band-aid, not a solution to the problem,
The other solution is a long-term contract. But that’s likely to be a huge deal. New England got Jackson as an undrafted free agent after he was charged with four felony counts in college. He worked doggedly with the Patriots to make something of his career. He did just that. But with players like Jackson (and Malcolm Butler and other players who benefit from the Patriots’ development), New England doesn’t always shell out big deals. They didn’t even give big deals to Thuney, defensive ends Trey Flowers or outside linebackers Chandler Jones.
But again, the Patriots will need an elite cornerback. It’s possible the New England looks to free agency to address their cornerback problem, not unlike what they did by signing Gilmore in 2017, rather than extending Butler. New England could let Jackson depart and use their cap space to secure one of the pending free agents (Marshon Lattimore, Carlton Davis, Kyle Fuller, Joe Haden).
Regardless of what the Patriots do next, they have a clear need to secure a No. 1 cornerback in 2022. Jackson’s contract standoff is officially in the spotlight. Will the Patriots give him a long-term deal, the franchise tag or an opportunity to test the open market in free agency?
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