What does the future hold for the Patriots' J.C. Jackson?

The Patriots’ defense struggled in their wild-card loss to the division rival Bills. That struggle could perhaps have a noticeable effect on cornerback J.C. Jackson‘s future. An undrafted free agent in 2018, Jackson was on a one-year extension this season, meaning last week’s loss is the last game he will have played before potentially hitting the free-agent market.

The game was possibly Jackson’s worst in his four-year career, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN, who called out Jackson’s technique playing the ball, coverage breakdowns, and overall effort. Reiss went on to deliberate on the odds of New England tagging the second-team All-Pro, which currently projects as a $17.28 million tag. Reiss believes that Jackson’s playoff performance could prevent New England from using its franchise tag on him at all. The Patriots could always agree on an extension with Jackson, but after an impressive, healthy season, the 26-year-old will likely want to test the free agency waters.

Here are a few more notes from the AFC, starting with an item out of the North:

• We got a bit of peek behind the scenes from Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager who tweeted out that, after some debate on whom to take with their first of two third-round picks, the Rams got intel that Baltimore planned to draft Cooper Kupp at 74th overall. The Rams selected the now first-team All-Pro, and Baltimore used its pick on current Steeler Chris Wormley.
• Jalen Ramsey spoke recently with Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic about the events that lead to his exit from Jacksonville. Rodrigue did a deep dive on Ramsey’s journey, and the three-time All-Pro expanded on how undervalued he felt by the Jaguars’ staff and detailed an explosive meeting with Jacksonville's top brass that lead to his eventual trade request.
• In a tweet earlier this week, LA Daily News reporter Gilbert Manzano gave an account from Chargers general manager Tom Telesco on the pending free agency of wide receiver Mike Williams. Telesco praised Williams, who topped 1,000 yards receiving for the second time in his career this season, calling him a big part of the Bolts but didn’t discuss how he planned to move forward on contract talks with the fifth-year Charger.
• Also, in Chargers’ news, Giants’ assistant linebackers and special teams coach Anthony Blevins was interviewed to become Los Angeles’ new special teams coordinator, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN. Giants’ special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey also met with Los Angeles and is being considered for the position.