JC Jackson reportedly signed his second-round tender with the Patriots Friday, which means he's locked in for 2021.
Or does it?
NFL Media's Ian Rapoport speculated it isn't necessarily a lock he will be on the team come the season.
“This is not the end of the story because while this means he’s not going to sign the an offer sheet, or a restricted free agent offer sheet with anyone, it doesn’t necessarily mean he is going to be on the team next year," Rapoport said. "What the team could do, and we saw this with Malcolm Butler with the Patriots several years back, is they could offer a lower draft pick than a second-rounder to potentially trade for JC Jackson. A trade that would also come with a contract extension. I would expect that at some point to come up in conversations from other teams.”
Rapoport also gave an update on the other star Patriots cornerback, Stephon Gilmore.
“[Stephon Gilmore] is recovering from a torn quad, and recovering very well. It sounds like that’s going good," he said. "But, it does make doing something with him right now … difficult. Because it would be a little bit of a speculation-type move based on how he is recovering and all that. We thought this might be someone who a team could potentially trade for, now maybe someone New England locks in on a contract extension down the road. Still one of the best players in football regardless of position.”
While it seems the Patriots will have both Jackson and Gilmore for 2021, it isn't a sure thing as things can always change.