JC Jackson was verboten from traveling with the New England Patriots when they traveled to Germany for an international duel with the Indianapolis Colts.
The defender addressed his unscheduled absence from the study abroad upon his return to the team on Tuesday, accepting full blame for his exclusion. Few, if any, seem to buy the idea of Jackson missing the Frankfurt trip due to "personal reasons" and Jackson confirmed to Mark Daniels of MassLive.com that he had missed several bed checks at the New England hotel prior to their most recent game on American soil against the Washington Commanders.
“What happened was I didn’t travel with the team to Germany. It was a punishment on my behalf and that’s what it was,” Jackson told MassLive. “I didn’t take it any other way than, this is punishment and I hope you learn from it and grow from this mistake I made.
“I was kind of late to bed check. They checked my room. I wasn’t there at the time. That’s what it was. It was nothing major. I wasn’t out that night doing anything stupid. It was just I wasn’t where I was supposed to be on time. Little mistakes, man."
Jackson was sentenced to a two-series benching in the loss to Washington and he was denied entry into the Colts game entirely.
The 2021 All-Pro rep and Super Bowl LII champion is in the midst of a reunion tour with the Patriots, who brought him back through a deal with the Los Angeles Chargers in October. He has put up 14 tackles and three pass breakups in five showings to date.
As New England (2-8) works through its most trying season in decades, Foxborough faith has dwindled in head coach Bill Belichick. In an intriguing twist, Jackson's trust in the embattled Patriots boss, as well as his faith in the Patriots' franchise as a whole, has only seemed to have expanded through his discipline.
"It was all my fault. I made a mistake," Jackson said. "That’s what you’re going to get from Bill (Belichick). That’s one thing about him. He’s going to discipline no matter who you are.
“This is a team sport and I have to do whatever everybody else is doing. I want to be a part of the team. This is my team. This is home for me, man. This is where I want to be ... I want to finish my career here ... I’ve just got to continue to build that leadership each and every day."
New England's defense manned the Frankfurt fort with Jackson out but offensive shortcomings doomed Foxborough to a 10-6 defeat, its third in a row. The defender is expected to be back in action come Sunday, when the Patriots continue to play out the stretch against the equally woebegone New York Giants (1 p.m. ET, Fox).
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