In March 2022, the San Diego Chargers signed former New England Patriots Safety J.C. Jackson, who was coming off a second team All-Pro selection to a five-year $82.5 million contract.
However, just one year into the contract the Chargers traded Jackson back to the Patriots for a later round pick which prompted Chargers General Manager Tom Telesco to apologize to Chargers players during a defensive backs meeting in Week 6 ahead of its 20-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
According to ESPN’s Kris Rhim Telesco told the Chargers defensive backs that signing Jackson was a mistake
and apologized for continuing to give Jackson opportunities to play despite the fact the six-year veteran routinely showed he wasn’t as committed as the rest of the team even though he was one of its highest paid players.The situation reached a pivotal point in week 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders when Jackson refused to enter the game, keeping his shoelaces untied even though the team needed him due to safety Michael Davis injuring his ankle in the third quarter.
Two weeks later, Jackson was traded back to the Patriots, who needed a safety after rookie Christian Gonzalez suffered a torn labrum and a separated shoulder knocking him out for the season.
Jackson isn’t the first Patriot who signed a big contract with a new team and didn’t live up to it. Following the 2008 season where he guided the Patriots to an 11-win season, Matt Cassel signed a six-year, $63 million deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. However he went just 19-28 during his four seasons in KC and Chiefs fans cheered when he was knocked out of a home game against the Baltimore Ravens during his last season.
Others who signed lucrative deals with other teams after leaving New England and have disappointed include wide receivers David Givens and Reche Caldwell and defensive back Ellis Hobbs.
Since returning to the Patriots, Jackson has played all five of their games collecting 14 combined tackles, 12 solo tackles and three passes defended. Many in the Chargers organization believed Jackson had a lackadaisical attitude when it came to practice and didn’t respond well to coaching, something NFL fans may consider weird considering Patriots coach Bill Belichick is known as a stickler for players practicing and his attention to detail.