Report: Patriots' J.C. Jackson Not Expected to Travel to Germany for Colts Game

The New England Patriots will likely be without cornerback J.C. Jackson for Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts in Germany.

Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, Jackson isn't expected to travel with the team to let him "get through the bye and return in a better place" amid his ongoing struggles this season.

The MMQB's Albert Breer added Jackson was late to arrive at the Patriots' team hotel on Saturday leading up to their game against the Washington Commanders.

Jackson returned to the Patriots on Oct. 5 when the Los Angeles Chargers traded the 27-year-old. The deal came 19 months after he signed a five-year, $82.5 million deal with the Chargers in free agency.

Per ESPN's Kris Rhim, Chargers general manager Tom Telesco apologized to the other Chargers defensive backs at the end of a positional meeting going into Week 6 for signing Jackson.

"Telesco told the group that signing Jackson was a mistake," Rhim wrote, "according to multiple team sources. He apologized for continuing to give Jackson opportunities, despite Jackson routinely showing that he wasn't as committed as the rest of the team while being one of the Chargers' highest paid players."

Jackson only appeared in seven games with the Chargers after signing the deal. New England made the move to acquire him following a likely season-ending shoulder injury to rookie Christian Gonzalez.

It made sense for the Patriots to trade for Jackson. He was terrific over four seasons in New England after signing with the team as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He was named to the All-Pro second team in 2021 after leading the league with 23 passes defensed.

Jackson had 25 interceptions in 62 games with the Patriots from 2018 to '21. He has one interception in 12 games over the past two seasons.

After playing at least 90 percent of the defensive snaps in Weeks 6 and 7, Jackson has been on the field for 68 percent of the snaps in each of the past two games. He didn't start in Week 9 against the Washington Commanders.

The Patriots and Colts will play at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Germany. They have a bye in Week 11 before playing the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Nov. 26.