2022 NFL: Worst offseason move for each of the 32 teams
By Randy Gurzi
New England Patriots: Letting J.C. Jackson walk
Bill Belichick is the greatest NFL head coach of our generation. There’s no denying this but at the same time, it also feels like he sometimes makes it harder on himself than he needs to.
For example, the New England Patriots often let talented players leave rather than pay them. He did this with Asante Samuel, Malcolm Butler, and Chandler Jones. Now, they did it again as they decided not to try and retain J.C. Jackson, who ended up joining the Los Angeles Chargers.
Jackson, an undrafted free agent out of Maryland, had 25 interceptions in his four seasons with the Pats — including 17 in the past two years alone. He joins the Chargers where he will be needed since they play in one of the toughest divisions in the NFL ‚— one that includes Patrick Mahomes.
New England will now turn to an aged Butler — who came out of a brief retirement to re-join New England — Jalen Mills, and Jonathan Jones as their corners.
As is often the case, they’ll end up being fine overall but with Tom Brady no longer on offense, it would have made more sense to try and keep the guy who continually gets the ball back for your team, rather than trying to nickel and dime it in the secondary.