NFL Rumors: Chargers GM Apologized to DBs for J.C. Jackson Contract After Pats Trade

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The Los Angeles Chargers sought a mea culpa regarding J.C. Jackson’s five-year, $82.5 million contract, according to ESPN’s Kris Rhim.

The Chargers traded Jackson to the New England Patriots in October, an admission of a costly failure. Rhim reported general manager Tom Telesco acknowledged as much to L.A.’s other defensive backs.

“Telesco told the group that signing Jackson was a mistake, according to multiple team sources,” per Rhim. “He apologized for continuing to give Jackson opportunities, despite Jackson routinely showing that he wasn’t as committed as the rest of the team while being one of the Chargers’ highest paid players.”

Telesco also described the Jackson signing as a “swing and a miss.”

The deal made plenty of sense at the time.

Jackson was coming off a Pro Bowl in 2021 and the best cornerback on the free-agent market. Adding him to a secondary that included Derwin James and 2021 second-round pick Asante Samuel Jr. should’ve provided Los Angeles with the foundation of an elite pass defense.

Instead, the 27-year-old managed to make just seven appearances with the team. He underwent ankle surgery in August 2022, which disrupted his adjustment early on, and then he suffered a torn patellar tendon in Week 7 that wiped out the rest of the season.

Injuries alone don’t account for the Chargers cut bait so quickly, though.

“Many within the organization believed Jackson approached practices with a ‘lackadaisical’ attitude and didn’t respond well to coaching, according to team sources,” Rhim reported. “In the Chargers’ Week 4 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Jackson refused to go in after he was benched for the first three quarters, telling coaches he wasn’t warmed up enough, according to team sources.”

There was probably no coming back from benching Jackson for a Week 3 win over the Minnesota Vikings, with him saying afterward he was “still confused on why.” That sent quite a message about how he was viewed internally.

No general manager has a perfect record, and there have been bigger free-agent busts than Jackson. That Telesco felt the need to personally apologize to members of the team means the transaction might have been even worse than people realized.