The NFL’s legal tampering period begins Monday, and the Arizona Cardinals enter free agency with a lot of work to do. General manager Steve Keim has to juggle retaining the many free agents Arizona will have with finding roster upgrades.
Among many needs the Cardinals have is at cornerback, which is why major outlets have pointed to New England Patriots defensive back J.C. Jackson as an ideal fit.
Pro Football Focus and ESPN both named Jackson, the NFL’s second leader in interceptions with eight in 2021, the perfect match for the Cardinals.
The football reasoning is very clear.
The Cardinals run a man-coverage heavy scheme, and Jackson is PFF’s second highest-graded cornerback defending in man since 2018. Stephon Gilmore, also a free agent this spring, is first.
Jackson has great ball skills as shown by the interceptions. He allowed a 46.8 passer rating when targeted last season, which was the fourth-best mark in the NFL.
He’s also only 26 years old and could slide into one of the outside spots next to Marco Wilson with Byron Murphy Jr. in the slot.
His fit sounds too good to be true, and it probably is.
The Cardinals do not have the luxury of an exorbitant amount of cap room.
The organization can create more space, as it already has by releasing linebacker Jordan Hicks and reportedly restructuring deals with Devon Kennard and Justin Pugh. There could be more cuts coming or contract restructures, including void years or changes to signing bonuses.
However, the Cardinals have a lot of positions to address as running backs James Conner and Chase Edmonds, edge rusher Chandler Jones and wide receivers Christian Kirk and A.J. Green are all hitting the market.
Most interceptions in the NFL since:
2018: J.C. Jackson (25)
2019: J.C. Jackson (22)
2020: J.C. Jackson (17)A 26-year old with a nose for the ball is now scheduled to hit the open market next week. pic.twitter.com/Pcc6YTGBUX
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 8, 2022
Spotrac also projects Jackson’s market value at $20,942,359 per season. This is not unprecedented, either, as top cornerbacks on the free agent market have received lucrative deals over the past several seasons.
William Jackson signed a three-year, $40.5 million deal with the Washington Commanders last offseason. Byron Jones agreed to a five-year contract worth $82.5 million in 2020 with the Miami Dolphins.
PFF addressed the cap elephant in the room in its evaluation:
Arizona isn’t rich with cap space on paper, but they can open up the room via cuts and restructures to make a push for Jackson. Not to mention, his skill set would allow defensive coordinator Vance Joseph the freedom to call more man coverage after he was forced to dial back in 2021 due to the lack of talent at the position.
The addition of Jackson is an exciting prospect and Keim has swung big in recent offseasons by adding wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in 2020 and defensive end J.J. Watt last year. Making the money work with Jackson would just be very difficult.
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March 14, 2022 at 10:02PM
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PFF, ESPN name cornerback J.C. Jackson an ideal fit for the Cardinals - Arizona Sports
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