Who will be the hottest cornerback in the future free agent market? I believe that many fans will have a fairly uniform answer - New England Patriots ace cornerback JC Jackson. But it seems the Patriots don't think so, for whatever reason, at least in terms of current performance, they're not absolutely Jackson irreplaceable. The good cornerback, who was named to the Pro Bowl this season, said in an interview that he hopes to continue playing in 2022, but he is not confident of returning to the Patriots.
In the interview, Jackson said he had not had any contact with the team since the end of last season on the renewal of his contract. "I guess they don't think they need me anymore." "I don't think I'm that important to them, I know I actually have, but they don't make me feel that," he said. ”
At the same time, Jackson also said that the Patriots had talked to him about the renewal of the contract in the 2021 season, but the two sides failed to reach an agreement, but he did not pay attention to it and said that he hoped to have the opportunity to play for the Patriots again. "I love this game and if they want me, I can keep playing for them."
On Wednesday, Beijing time, the NFL's privilege tag use authority will be officially opened, which means the Patriots can label Jackson with a privilege tag to prevent other teams from approaching him, and if they choose to do so, it means Jackson can get an annual salary of $17 million, which is much higher than his $3.4 million salary last season. If the Patriots don't use the privilege tag before March 9, Beijing time, it means jackson will become an unrestricted free agent, and he can start negotiations with other teams on March 15 and enter the free market on March 17.
The 2018 lost draft has become one of the league's top cornerbacks in recent years after playing two seasons off the bench. Interceptions are his best play, he completed 5 interceptions in 2019, surged to 9 in 2020, and in 2021 he copied 8 times, but passed 23 times to lead the league. According to common sense, such data is worth staying on a big contract, but the Patriots' operation is difficult to predict, and Stefan Gilmer has also shined here, perhaps the team feels that both Gilmer and Jackson are highly replicable, or they are implementing some kind of price-cutting signing strategy.
(Aibao)