After recovering from offseason ankle surgery that slowed the start of his Chargers career, J.C. Jackson suffered a scary non-contact injury in the second quarter of Week 7's game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Jackson's knee appeared to give out while guarding Marquise Goodwin on a shot to the end-zone. Jackson had blanket coverage on Goodwin but collapsed as he attempted to jump, allowing the Seattle receiver to make the catch in the end zone to extend the lead to 14.
The injury on the play is far more impactful to the Chargers than the seven points allowed. Despite being a non-contact injury, it appeared to be very serious as there was a long delay on the field as Jackson eventually had to be carted off with his leg stabilized.
Jackson signed a five-year, $82.5 million contract with the Chargers this past spring. It is undoubtedly a big loss for the team, as Jackson could be out the rest of the season with the injury.
Twitter reacts to J.C. Jackson's injury in Chargers-Seahawks:
One theory regarding Jackson's injury has to do with SoFi Stadium itself. Artificial turf has been under the spotlight for injuries, especially for the Chargers this season. Some are theorizing that the turf has something to do with Jackson's knee giving out.
Artificial turf might have claimed another knee, this time JC Jackson’s.
— Michael Fabiano (@Michael_Fabiano) October 23, 2022
Jackson was not the only big-name player to leave the game early with an injury. Seattle's DK Metcalf left the game earlier with a non-contact injury and was quickly declared out. Once again, SoFi Stadium is in the spotlight for the injury.
JC Jackson on the cart headed to locker room. DK's injury was much different. Incomplete pass and he walked to sideline with nothing apparently wrong. But two significant contributors to their teams now done for the day with non-contact injuries on this SoFi turf.
— Ian Furness (@IanFurnessSea) October 23, 2022
Non-contact injuries definitely happen in a game like football but they should not be happening this often. Having two high-profile players get hurt when it was absolutely avoidable is bad for the league and is unfortunate for these players.
Jackson's career with the Chargers did not get off to a great start, even leading to the star cornerback getting benched in the second half against the Denver Broncos. While Chargers fans have been critical of Jackson this season, there is no doubt that they are rallying behind their player after the injury.
JC Jackson Carted off I hope he’s ok. He hasn’t been playing well but he’s human also let’s relax on the guy @chargers #boltup #boltgod #theyquiet
— Bolt God (@BoltGodd) October 23, 2022
That really sucks for JC Jackson man. Potentially a season ender. Hope he’s able to recover from this.
— Guilty As Charged Podcast (@GACPodcast17) October 23, 2022
Our thoughts are out to Jackson as he hopefully can make a speedy and painless recovery. Perhaps it is time for the LA Rams and Chargers to consider some kind of change to the playing surface. The Las Vegas Raiders figured out how to play on real grass indoors. They can figure it out in LA.