When the New England Patriots defense took the field last Sunday against the Washington Commanders, two players were suspiciously absent: cornerbacks J.C. Jackson and Jack Jones were not part of the lineup initially, with other players such as third-year man Shaun Wade instead seeing an increased role.
The two did eventually enter the game after two and three series, respectively, but their usage raised some questions — questions that were neither answered by head coach Bill Belichick nor by cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino. However, it does look like their apparent benchings were indeed of a disciplinary nature.