Chargers' GM Felt So Bad About The Disastrous J.C. Jackson Debacle He Reportedly Apologized To Every Defensive Back On The Team

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J.C. Jackson put together an extremely impressive campaign with the New England Patriots in 2021. He totaled 58 tackles, eight interceptions, and a touchdown. That offseason the defensive back was rewarded with a five-year $82.5 million contract from the Los Angeles Chargers. While at the time it seemed like a fine signing, it quickly became one that Chargers' GM Tom Telesco would regret.

Jackson suffered an ankle injury during preseason camp with the Chargers that forced him to miss the season opener. By Week 6 he was benched. And soon after the injury bug bit him yet again in the form of a patellar tendon rupture that ended his season.

READ: J.C. JACKSON ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGED FAMILY ISSUE

The Maryland product ultimately played just seven total games for the Chargers before being shipped back to New England in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round pick.

The J.C. Jackson experience in Los Angeles was bad, and Chargers GM Tom Telesco owned up to it. (Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Based on a recent report from ESPN, it wasn't just Jackson's inability to stay healthy, but a lack of commitment on his behalf that caught the attention of Telesco. The week the Chargers traded him to the Patriots, Telesco decided to step up and apologize to the entire defensive backs group.

Chargers GM Owns His Mistake

"Telesco told the group that signing Jackson was a mistake, 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," according to the report. "Telesco called the move a "swing and a miss."

The report also cites team sources who explained that Jackson refused to go back into the Chargers' Week 4 game against the Las Vegas Raiders after being benched for the first three quarters.

The Jackson experiment in Los Angeles was a mess, to put it mildly.

While Telesco isn't exactly in the good graces with Chargers fans at the moment with the team sitting at 3-4 on the season, perhaps this story about him owning up to a disastrous signing via a meeting in front of the franchise's actual players earned him some valuable points for the time being.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.