The Los Angeles Chargers made corner J.C. Jackson one of the highest-paid corners in the NFL this past offseason, believing the former New England Patriot could solidify the secondary. Through six weeks, the return on that investment has been abysmal.
Jackson, who underwent ankle surgery before the season and missed two games, has gotten burned repeatedly in coverage, including Monday night in the 19-16 win over the Denver Broncos.
Chargers head coach Brandon Staley had seen enough, benching Jackson in favor of Michael Davis in the second half and overtime.
“It just wasn’t good enough in the first half, and we felt like we needed to make a change,” Staley said on the decision to bench Jackson, via Chargers Wire.
Jackson played 23 snaps Monday night. It was rough the entire way.
The corner was called for defensive pass interference on the opening drive. Later he caused a busted coverage on a 39-yard TD to tight end Greg Dulcich. On the final drive before halftime, Jackson got beat by KJ Hamler for a 47-yard catch. Staley admitted both plays were Jackson’s error.
Jackson allowed two catches on three targets for 86 yards and a touchdown in the first half, per Pro Football Focus.
The Chargers signed Jackson to a five-year, $82.5 million contract, with $40 million guaranteed. But the corner has struggled mightily acclimating to the zone coverage Staley’s club plays after working in the man-to-man system in New England.
The question moving forward is whether Staley will trust Jackson to overcome the issues or saddle his highly paid corner to the bench.