DECEMBER 19: Jackson’s season is now over. Patriots place recently reacquired cornerback on reserve/non-football illness list, ESPN’s Field Yates tweets. Since this designation sidelines a player for at least four games, Jackson’s next opportunity to dress will come in September. Jackson’s constructed contract with the Chargers runs through 2025, but there is no guaranteed money left beyond this year. The Patriots signed a running back Kevin Harris from their practice squad to take Jackson’s place.
DECEMBER 17: The Patriots were forced to sign a rookie cornerback Alex Austin against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs today when they were expected to start J.C. Jackson was an unexpected scratch on the active roster today. Jackson’s agent, Neil Schwartz, explained that his client is coping with mental health issuesaccording to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, a problem Jackson has admitted to in the past. 
“I would say that mentally, I am better” Jackson said afterwards he missed the team’s trip to Germany. “The last two and a half years have been up and down for me mentally. You see us in these little helmets, but when we walk through these doors we are faced with reality and what a normal person has to face.
Jackson, once valuable free agent addition for the Chargers after his first stint in New England, was traded to Patriots earlier this year after multiple injuries and some healthy stripes in Los Angeles. Jackson was almost immediately elevated to a starting position in New England when a rookie’s first-round pick Christian Gonzalez was lost for the year.
Despite returning to prominence with his former team, Jackson still encountered problems. His absence in Germany was the result of discipline for missing several “bed checks”, a punishment he accepted, for which he apologized and said he would learn from it.
Today’s absence, however, proves that there is still some work to be done on Jackson’s part. The Patriots clearly thought he would be active today, leading them to list the backup cornerback Shaun Wade as inactive. This led to the team losing two cornerbacks to one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and forced them to start a rookie seventh-round pick they signed a month and a half ago. Things went from bad to worse when the departing veteran Jonathan Jones left the game with a knee injury, leaving only Austin and Slot Corner Myles Bryant as are the remaining healthy cornerbacks on the roster.
With the Patriots already eliminated from the playoffs, there won’t be a rush to bring Jackson back before he can handle him, or at least there shouldn’t be. Players are people too, and it’s been clear for a while that Jackson is struggling. The inability to play today is the latest in a series of adversities for Jackson as he continues to attempt to prioritize his mental health as an NFL player.
