The Chargers traded cornerback J.C. Jackson to the Patriots on Wednesday, but they will reportedly still have him on their financial books for the rest of the season.
Jackson has a fully guaranteed $12 million salary for the 2023 season and Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the Chargers will be paying the majority of it. They’re picking up the tab because it facilitated the deal with New England.
The Chargers will receive a 2025 sixth-round pick and will send the Patriots a 2025 seventh-rounder along with Jackson.
It’s not what the Chargers envisioned when they signed Jackson to a five-year contract as a free agent in 2022, but his recent benching showed that he was no longer in their plans and they would have been on the hook for paying him his entire salary if they kept or released him. The Patriots will be hoping that Jackson gets back to the player he was in his first New England stint, especially with the news that Christian Gonzalez is likely to miss the rest of his rookie season.