Patriots release Super Bowl winner as new head coach continues overhaul
The New England Patriots have let go of their Super Bowl-winning cornerback, J. C. Jackson, as part of the team's big overhaul under new head coach Jerod Mayo.
By releasing Jackson, the Patriots have freed up $13. 5 million in their salary cap, which will help them as they look for new players. It was widely expected Jackson would move on as he was due to cost the team $14. 4 million next season.
Jackson, who was picked for the Pro Bowl in 2021 and won Super Bowl LIII with the Patriots, is leaving a team that still has six cornerbacks under contract for 2024 - Marcus Jones, Christian Gonzalez, Isaiah Bolden, Marco Wilson, Jonathan Jones, and Shaun Wade. Myles Bryant is a free agent and Alex Austin, a second-year cornerback, has an exclusive rights clause.
With official deals able to be made from Mar. 11, the Patriots have a league-high $103 million in cap space. It gives Mayo lots of options to shape the team how he wants. Mayo is the 15th head coach of the franchise and also its first Black head coach.
Since Mayo took over from Bill Belichick, the Patriots have been busy reshaping their team. They've signed guard Michael Jordan for 2024 and included wide receiver Kawaan Baker in the same deal. On 20th February, they announced that star special teams player Matthew Slater was retiring, and they also said goodbye to defensive tackle Lawrence Guy Sr. and safety Adrian Phillips.
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After he got the job in January, Mayo talked about the team's cap space, saying they would "burn some cash" to get better players. But later, he said he didn't mean it exactly like that, but they still plan to use the money to make big improvements.
JC Jackson was released by the Patriots (Getty)"You know, I kind of misspoke when I said "burn some cash," but I was excited when you see those numbers. But when you reflect on those numbers, you don't have to spend all of it in one year," he said. "This is going to be a process. So I don't want people to think, 'you got 60 million dollars, 70 million, whatever, so let's get this guy, that guy, that guy.' It may work for a couple games, or maybe a season, but it won't work long term."
The New England team has the third pick in the next draft, and many people think they might choose quarterbacks Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels. At the NFL Combine, Daniels talked about how cool it would be to join the team.
"Yeah it would be dope," said Daniels to the reporters there. "Obviously growing up and seeing what Tom Brady did there, six Super Bowls, that's tough to live up to. But it would be dope to come in there and see the success they had and help them get back on that track."
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