The New England Patriots have agreed to a trade with the Los Angeles Chargers for cornerback J.C. Jackson, a source told ESPN’s Mike Reiss on Wednesday.
To facilitate the trade, the Patriots and Chargers are reworking Jackson’s remaining $9.33 million salary for 2023, with New England covering around $1.5 million and the Chargers covering the rest in a signing bonus, sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Jackson’s contract, which runs through the 2026 season, stays intact otherwise, the sources said.
Jackson, who began his career with the Patriots, signed a five-year, $82.5 million contract with the Chargers last offseason. He was inactive in Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings, however, and although active for the Chargers’ Week 4 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, he didn’t play a snap.
Jackson said last week he was “confused” by his Week 3 benching.
Promising Patriots rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez suffered a shoulder injury in New England’s 38-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. A source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Gonzalez has a torn labrum and is out indefinitely.
Jackson, 27, played seven games total in two seasons with the Chargers and had one interception. Last season, Jackson allowed a career-worst 149.3 passer rating when targeted, before suffering a season-ending rupture to the patellar tendon in his right knee in Week 7.
Jackson said last week he knows he is not fully healthy yet, but he declined to gauge how close he is, saying only, “I’m doing what I can.”
This season, Jackson is allowing a 72.0 passer rating when targeted, the second worst of his career. In his final season in New England, he allowed a 46.8 passer rating.
In the 2021 season, his final year in New England, Jackson was an All-Pro and was second in the NFL with eight interceptions. He had 25 interceptions in his first four NFL seasons with the Patriots.
ESPN’s Kris Rhim contributed to this report.