It doesn't matter whether the injury was bad or not. The reconstructive surgery is the same either way, as is the rehab time. Running in a straight line starts earlier, but cutting does not start until six to eight months after the surgery. That would be somewhere between August 1 and October 1 for Jackson.
There is some period of time between the start of cutting drills and the time at which the player is comfortable with the knee.
Given how little he saw the field at the end of last season, despite a depleated receiver situation and given that he is missing his second full off-season program, I honestly don't know why anyone thinks Jackson will be anywhere but the PUP list.
Doesn't signing Moss, Stallworth, Welker, and Washington tell us everything we need to know about how the Pats view Jackson's prospects for the 2007 season?
