Report: J.C. Jackson not traveling with Patriots to Germany amid "questions about his reliability"
BOSTON -- The J.C. Jackson reunion in New England does not seem to be going well.
Just days after Jackson was seemingly benched for the first two series of the game against Washington, the veteran cornerback will not be traveling with the Patriots for their game in Germany this weekend.
Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported that "with questions about his reliability, the decision was made to have him stay home, get through the bye and return in a better place."
#Patriots CB JC Jackson is not expected to travel with the team to Germany for their game against the #Colts, sources tell me and @MikeGarafolo. With questions about his reliability, the decision was made to have him stay home, get through the bye and return in a better place. pic.twitter.com/kNdbeI9RLs
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 8, 2023
After that report came out, Albert Breer reported that Jackson was late arriving to the team hotel last weekend, hence his benching to start the game.
Patriots CB JC Jackson was late to the team hotel on Saturday, per sources, which was a part of why he started Sunday's game vs. the Commanders on the bench. Now, as @RapSheet said, Jackson won't be making the trip to Germany.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) November 8, 2023
Reliability issues have long plagued Jackson.
The Patriots acquired Jackson in a pick swap with the Chargers during the season, less than two years after Jackson had signed a big-money deal in Los Angeles. The 27-year-old filled in on a Patriots defense that lost rookie Christian Gonzalez and second-year corner Marcus Jones to injury early in the year, but he notably struggled in Miami in Week 8 before the partial benching to start Week 9.
Jackson reportedly wore out his welcome with the Chargers for having a "lackadaisical" attitude and not responding well to coaching, with the issue culminating with Jackson refusing to enter a game in Week 4 of this season. Bill Belichick has not publicly indicated that Jackson has had any such issues after returning to Foxboro, but the latest action would suggest that things have clearly gone awry in the Patriots' hope to get Pro Bowl-caliber play out of the player who had previously been a star with the team.
Jackson played in 50 percent of the Patriots' defensive snaps in his return to the team, a 34-0 home loss to the Saints. The next week, he took 96 percent of the snaps before taking 90 percent the following week. But the numbers have dipped to 68 percent in each of the past two games. He's recorded three pass defenses and 14 tackles in his five games with the Patriots.
With the Patriots sitting at 2-7, they'll likely be leaning on Shaun Wade to help fill in any gaps in the secondary on Sunday against the Colts.