Chargers News: JC Jackson Traded Back To New England

LA now has another hole in their secondary.

We have an early-season trade for your Los Angeles Chargers! The Bolts are sending cornerback J.C. Jackson back to the New England Patriots, and the return is a swap of late-round draft picks.

The #Patriots and #Chargers will swap 2025 6th and 7th rounders, sources say. https://t.co/LHfmbBxTb6

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 4, 2023

Jackson was the high-priced free agent for the Chargers two offseasons ago but injuries limited him all of last season. He never saw the field consistently enough to show what he could do, and it hurt his status with the team.

Even this season, the team listed him as a healthy scratch for week three and he didn’t see game action in week four. He has played in just two games this season for the Bolts and had three tackles and one interception during that time.

Jackson never round a rhythm in LA, and now heads back to the place that started it all for him. During his first go-around with the Patriots, Jackson became known as one of the best in the league. He had 17 interceptions in a two-year span with New England, and it led to him getting paid by the Chargers on the open market.

LA will also be paying the majority of the $12 million that was owed to Jackson for the remainder of this season.

The #Chargers are paying the majority of J.C. Jackson’s $12 million guaranteed salary to facilitate the deal, I’m told. They move on from a player who didn’t fit and the #Patriots get immediate help with rookie Christian Gonzalez likely out for the season per @RapSheet. https://t.co/YwPwU45MxY

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 4, 2023

He is in the second year of a five-year deal that is worth $82.5 million, so the Chargers will be dumping some salary off their books. This is a good move for the Bolts considering that they weren’t even playing him to begin with.

It does leave another hole in the secondary for the Chargers, so they will need to make sure they fill that quickly. The defense for LA has been burned by opposing wideouts all year, and losing a quality player like Jackson leaves them with little depth.

The defense already had some issues, so LA will likely try to fill the gaps soon. This could be in the form of another trade, or maybe a free agent signing. Either way, they need to shore up their secondary moving forward.

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