A new report claims Los Angeles Chargers General Manager Tom Telesco recently apologized to the team for a massive mistake he made in free agency last year.
After losing their first two games this season, the Chargers have posted four wins in their last six and are in the thick of the playoff chase in the latest NFL standings. The roster has some talented players, but clearly, they are still a few pieces away from being a legitimate Super Bowl contender in the AFC.
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While the organization is always looking to improve the roster, they had one major failure recently when they gave former New England Patriots cornerback JC Jackson a huge $82.5 million contract in the spring of 2022. The signing came after he reached his first Pro Bowl in 2021 and turned into one of the better corners in the league.
However, over his season and a half in Los Angeles, he was a massive letdown as he posted career-worst numbers in just seven games before eventually being benched and then traded back to the Patriots earlier this season. Rarely do NFL executives own up to bad decisions, but apparently, the Chargers GM did exactly that recently.
Los Angeles Chargers GM calls JC Jackson signing a ‘swing and miss’
On Monday, ESPN Los Angeles Chargers reporter Kris Rhim revealed that after a Week 6 defensive backs meeting following the Jackson trade, Telesco told the unit that signing Jackson was a “mistake.” He also apologized for “continuing to give Jackson opportunities, despite Jackson routinely showing that he wasn’t as committed as the rest of the team while being one of the Chargers’ highest-paid players.”
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In finality, the LA GM reportedly told the defensive backs the decision was a “swing and miss” by him and his staff.
Some inside the organization reportedly felt Jackson approached the team’s practices with a “lackadaisical” attitude and didn’t seem to like being coached up. In the Chargers’ Week 4 win against the Las Vegas Raiders, he also refused to enter the game after being benched for the first three quarters.
The Charges received a late-round pick in 2024 in return for Jackson.