FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Patriots corner JC Jackson, who was second in the NFL last season with nine interceptions, officially signed the restricted agent’s bid in the second round on Friday, according to a source.
The auction blocks Jackson on a one-year, $ 3.38 million contract for 2021, and is then scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in the next off-season.
The deadline for teams to sign restricted free agents to offer tokens is April 23, and others around the NFL could soon follow Jackson’s example. Green Bay’s tight end, Robert Tonyan, who was also bid in the second round after catching 11 touchdowns last season, is among the most notable.
One line of thinking was that players like Jackson and Tonyan could attract interest from other teams, who could have signed them to offer sheets and then given up a draft pick in the second round if the players’ teams refused. to match.
But with a salary cap at a premium across the NFL, there hasn’t been much traction in the unrestricted agent market this season.
Jackson, 25, was a success story in New England after initially joining the team as a raw agent in Maryland in 2018. He played in 45 games in the regular season, with 22 starts and totaled 17 interceptions.