The plot thickens for the New England Patriots and J.C. Jackson.

Jackson was sidelined for the first two drives of Sunday's matchup against the Washington Commanders. And he was joined by Jack Jones who did not see time during the entire first quarter. Instead, it was Shaun Wade who got the start. 

So with the speculation that he was benched, things aren't getting any better for the cornerback. 

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, Jackson is not expected to travel with the team to Germany for their matchup against the Colts. 

"With questions about his reliability, the decision was made to have him stay home, get through the bye and return in a better place," Rapoport wrote.

Mike Garafolo added that "he’ll stay home as part of mental reset for after the bye."

After Sunday's game, reporters lined up around Jackson's locker following the game, but the cornerback declined to talk. 

Albert Breer further reported that Jackson was late to the team hotel on Saturday, which led to him getting benched at the beginning of the game. 

Jackson was acquired by the Patriots from the Los Angeles Chargers in October in return for a late round pick. This is his second stint with the Patriots, having began his career as an undrafted free agent with New England in 2018.

Following the 2021 season, Jackson went to Chargers, signing a massive $82.5 million contract for five years.

So with that, it's clear that the Patriots got the better end of the deal after they worked with the Chargers to rework Jackson's remaining $9.33 million for the 2023 season. New England will only cover $1.5 million of it, while Los Angeles is responsible for the rest.

However, it appears that Belichick's idea to bring the cornerback back to New England is not working out how he expected. 

It will be interesting to see what happens going forward after Jackson is forced to stay behind. 

J.C. Jackson reportedly refused to enter game for Chargers prior to trade to Patriots

The move had to be made after this.