The Patriots will be shorthanded at cornerback when they take on the Colts in Frankfurt, Germany on Sunday.
Cornerback J.C. Jackson won’t travel with the team to Germany, a source confirmed. NFL Media was first to report the news.
“With questions about his reliability, the decision was made to have him stay home, get through the bye and return in a better place,” NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday morning.
Jackson didn’t play the Patriots’ first two defensive series in Sunday’s loss to the Commanders. He was late to the team hotel on Saturday before the game, sources told the Herald.
Shaun Wade started in Jackson’s place. Cornerback Jack Jones also didn’t play for the entire first quarter.
Center David Andrews said he wasn’t fully aware of the situation when asked what message it sends that Jackson won’t travel to Germany.
“I think the team always will come first, and that’s the most important thing in this game,” Andrews said. “It’s the greatest team game.”
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said after Sunday’s game that Jackson and Jones were not benched. Patriots cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino said Tuesday while speaking to the media that he wanted to change the “narrative” around the situation that Jackson and Jones’ reduced playing time was more about what Wade had done to earn a starting spot.
Wade barely played after the Patriots’ first two defensive series.
“I can’t get into that, but if you want to know what that is, you’re going to have to talk to them,” safety Adrian Phillips said of Jackson and Jones not starting after Sunday’s game. “But they ended up playing, so it is what it is.”