The (second) JC Jackson era in New England has ended.

The team officially announced that they cut the troubled cornerback on Friday, saving $14 million in salary cap space.

The move isn’t a surprising one given the fact that the team is in rebuild mode and New England now has just about $100 million to “burn” in free agency, along with the No. 3 pick. Perhaps, this rebuild won’t take so long after all, but the organization has to hit on everything it does the next two or three months.

Jackson was drafted by New England in 2018 and played in 13 games as a rookie, starting five with three picks and six passes defended to go with 24 tackles. Jackson was an important piece of the puzzle to that Super Bowl team.

From 2019-2021, Jackson started 34 games. 2021 was his best season by far as he earned All Pro and Pro Bowl recognition with eight interceptions (1 TD), 23 pass break ups and 44 solo tackles (58 total). Following 2021, Jackson signed a massive 5-year, $82.5 million dollar free agent deal in March of 2022.

Unfortunately for LA, they did not get the same guy. Jackson played in just five games. Last season. the Chargers cut bait, trading him back to New England. Jackson played in eight games for the Pats, starting six. He didn’t have nearly the effect he had during his first stint, posting just six passes defended with 22 solo tackles and no picks.

Now, as New England looks to completely revamp its culture and image, Jackson is out looking for work again. The move was really a no-brainer for Jerod Mayo and Eliot Wolf and ultimately, Jackson’s story is like many others. He was simply a guy who got his bag and stopped putting in the work necessary to remain elite.