JC Jackson Pledges Model Professionalism To Overcome Slump
It hasn’t gone to plan for JC Jackson since he signed a five-year, $82.5 million deal with the Chargers.
The deal, signed in March, made JC Jackson one of the highest paid cornerbacks in the NFL. A combination of rehab from surgery and difficulties adapting to the Chargers has seen his performances suffer.
JC Jackson entered this season as the NFL leader in interceptions with 25 over the last four seasons. Now, his passer rating of 155.3 in coverage is second last out of cornerbacks with 10 or more targets.Â
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The anticlimactic start to the season culminated in Jackson being dropped for the Chargers’ MNF win over the Broncos.
“I feel defeated,” Jackson said. “I just feel like I’m not just being me.”
“It’s hard and it’s very disappointing,” Jackson said. “Knowing what I can do and I’m not able to do it. I’m not really playing to my full potential; it’s kind of upsetting.”
Head coach Brandon Staley confirmed Jackson would start against Seattle on Sunday, and said the franchise will remain ‘patient’ with him.
“It’s the practice time, the meeting time, the consistency of that,” Staley said. “As you guys know, it was disrupted at the beginning of the season, and, I think, has caused a setback, in terms of his development within our team and getting him playing his game within our team. I think that there are just a lot of little things that go into that, but we’re going to make sure that we have a great week of practice, starting today, and getting him to the game feeling his best.”
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“This week I’m going to study more,” Jackson said. “I’m going to be the last person to leave and the first person in the building. That’s how I’m going to approach the rest of the season.
“Just continue to keep my head down and continue to get back to work. Ignore the noise. People are going to talk whether you’re doing good or bad. That’s how I look at it. I just take everything positive and not look at it so negative. Just continue to work.”
