J. C. Jackson

Jackson originally signed with Florida, but injured his shoulder in the opening game, and didn't play the rest of the season. He was able to use this as a redshirt year. Following his acquittal for armed robbery, he did not return to Florida.[3]

Following his acquittal, Jackson left Florida and transferred to Riverside City College.[4]

While Jackson was attending Riverside, Jackson was coveted by college teams including South Florida and South Carolina. He eventually started practicing with Maryland in April, and later transferred there for the 2016 season.[5][6] After the 2017 season, Jackson announced that he would forgo his senior season and declared for the 2018 NFL Draft.[7]

On May 11, 2018, the New England Patriots signed Jackson to a three-year, $1.72 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $10,000.[12][13][14]

After a stellar training camp and preseason performance, Jackson was named to the Patriots' Week 1 53-man roster. In a Week 4 victory over the Miami Dolphins, Jackson recorded the first interception of his career on a throw from Ryan Tannehill.[15] He recorded his second during a Week 7 road win over the Chicago Bears.[16] He recorded his first career start during a Week 13 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, playing in 54 of the team's 61 defensive snaps.[17] Jackson finished the 2018 season with 24 tackles, 6 passes defended, and 3 interceptions.[18] Jackson helped the Patriots reach Super Bowl LIII, in which they defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13–3. In practices, Jackson moonlighted as a receiver on the scout team.[19]

Jackson in a game against the Washington Redskins

In 2019, Jackson made the Patriots' 53-man roster again. In week 4 against the Buffalo Bills, Jackson intercepted quarterback Josh Allen twice and blocked a punt which was recovered by teammate Matthew Slater for a touchdown in the 16–10 win. [20] In week 14 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Jackson recorded his third interception of the season off a pass thrown by Patrick Mahomes during the 23–16 loss.[21] In the Patriots' 34–13 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, Jackson intercepted quarterback Andy Dalton twice.[22] All of Jackson's career interceptions to date have come on attempts that traveled at least 15 yards downfield.[19]

In Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins, Jackson recorded his first interception of the season off a pass thrown by Ryan Fitzpatrick late in the fourth quarter to secure a 21–11 Patriots' win.[23] In Week 6 against the Denver Broncos, Jackson intercepted a pass thrown by Drew Lock during the 18–12 loss.[24] In Week 7 against the San Francisco 49ers, Jackson recorded another interception, this time off a pass thrown by Jimmy Garoppolo, during the 33–6 loss.[25] In Week 8, against the Buffalo Bills, Jackson recorded an interception off a pass thrown by Josh Allen during the 24–21 loss. This was Jackson's third interception in three games.[26] In Week 9, against the New York Jets on Monday Night Football, Jackson recorded another interception off a pass thrown by Joe Flacco in the fourth quarter after allowing two long touchdown passes from Flacco to wide receiver Breshad Perriman earlier in the game during the 30–27 win. [27] In Week 10, against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football, Jackson recorded another interception from Lamar Jackson, setting a new franchise record for games in a row with an interception with five. This interception prevented the Ravens from scoring to end the first half and helped the Patriots earn a 23–17 upset victory.[28] In Week 17 against the New York Jets, Jackson recorded his 9th interception of the season off a pass thrown by Sam Darnold during the 28–14 win.[29]