The New England Patriots acquired cornerback J.C. Jackson in a trade with the Los Angeles Chargers on Wednesday. The teams are swapping 2025 sixth- and seventh-round picks in the deal, with the Patriots getting Jackson and the Chargers' seventh-rounder in that draft, and the Chargers getting New England's sixth-rounder.
Jackson was originally signed by the Pats as an undrafted free agency and played in New England from 2018 to 2021 before signing a five-year, $82.5 million deal with the Chargers in free agency last year. The two teams are reworking Jackson's remaining $9.33 million salary for 2023 as part of the deal, with New England covering around $1.5 million and the Chargers covering the rest in a signing bonus.
Jackson had 25 interceptions with the Patriots, but he only played in seven games over two seasons in L.A. and hauled in just one pick during that time. He was a healthy scratch in Week 3 and had legal trouble in late September, when police in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, issued an arrest warrant after the cornerback failed to pay a $600 fine and attend a four-hour class on reckless driving. He dressed in Week 4 but did not play any snaps.
Let's break it down and grade the deal for both teams. As we always say: General managers don't get the benefit of hindsight, so we shouldn't enjoy that privilege, either. Let's judge the deal based on the information we have at the time and try to figure out which team won it.
Chargers trade CB Jackson to Patriots
Chargers get: 2025 sixth-round pick
Patriots get: Jackson, 2025 seventh-round pick
Grade for the Chargers: C
When Jackson left New England for L.A. in free agency last year, he was considered one of the best corners in football. He allowed minus-27 expected points added (EPA) as the nearest defender in coverage in 2021, per NFL Next Gen Stats. That ranked second among all corners, behind only Atlanta's A.J. Terrell. He earned second-team All-Pro honors, which helped him land $40 million fully guaranteed from the Chargers. Just 18 months later, the Chargers opted to not play him in his final two games with the team before flipping him back to the Patriots for almost nothing.
Looking back, 2021 wasn't a flash-in-the-pan season for Jackson. He posted double-digit negative EPA allowed numbers in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. That consistency at the time was impressive given the variant nature of cornerback play from year to year. He had shown a consistent ability to produce. In retrospect, though, a red flag should have been that Jackson had allowed higher than average yards per coverage snaps in both 2020 and 2021, making him reliant on interceptions (of which he recorded 17 those two seasons) to produce his strong numbers.
Jackson was not the same player with the Chargers. He played just five games last season before dislocating his right knee. In total, he allowed 1.9 yards per coverage snap (up from 1.4 the season before) and plus-17 EPA in 2022. Crucially, he had zero interceptions. In his two games this season, things didn't look much better, with Jackson allowing 118 yards on 40 coverage snaps (3.0 yards per coverage snap), though he did have a pick in Week 1.
After Jackson was made a healthy scratch in Week 3 and then played zero snaps in Week 4, the signs were pointing to a player whose time with the Chargers was headed toward an end. For whatever reason, he didn't work in Brandon Staley's defense, and L.A. moved on. In return, the team received a late-round pick swap and $1.5 million in salary relief, because it's taking on most of Jackson's 2024 guaranteed salary. That's it. Signing Jackson ended up being disastrous, as the Chargers paid him $38.5 million for seven games.
Grade for the Patriots: A-
All of the problems with Jackson's play with the Chargers I outlined in the section above still apply. Then again, that's why he's returning to the Patriots for basically nothing.
New England is acquiring Jackson in a time of need, as rookie first-round pick Christian Gonzalez tore his right labrum in Week 4 and is out indefinitely. The Patriots already were banged up at cornerback prior to Gonzalez's injury.
This deal is absolutely a swing worth taking for New England. It cost very little, and they're putting a player back in circumstances in which he previously thrived. I don't know if it was a difference in schematics, comfort, luck or anything else that led to Jackson's severe drop-off in play, but the Patriots now get a chance to find out whether they can get back the old Jackson. He's still only 27 years old.
If he returns to being even an average player, he would fill a critical void and could be a turnover generator during the remainder of the season. If not, there's almost nothing lost, because the salary and draft capital cost is miniscule and New England already was pressed into playing backups at corner.
Jackson is under contract through 2026, but his 2024 cost -- between salary and roster bonus -- is over $14 million. He would have to turn back into the Jackson of old for the Patriots to even think about keeping him at that price. This is a trade meant for the short-term.