It appears some within the New England Patriots are all-in on quarterback Mac Jones heading into the offseason.
“Mac has universal support in the locker room,” Patriots insider Greg A. Bedard of Boston Sports Journal said during an appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub, per Matt Audilet of The Spun. “And the players on both sides of the ball — especially offense — realize the position they were put in this season. They were not put in a position to succeed. I think it was a problem this year.”
Jones seemed in real danger of at least temporarily losing his starting job when rookie signal-caller Bailey Zappe picked up a couple of wins while Jones was sidelined with a high-ankle sprain. It was said in October that players within the New England locker room wanted Jones to start over Zappe, but that was before the Patriots fell short of qualifying for the playoffs.
Earlier this week, Bill Belichick refused to commit to keeping Jones his starter through this offseason. That may have been a misstep from the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach.
“But I think the lack of accountability by the head coach on him putting players in these positions, specifically how Bill handled the whole Bailey Zappe situation — that did not go over well in the locker room with Mac’s teammates,” Bedard continued. “And I think there’s an issue there, and I don’t think further throwing Mac Jones under the bus is going to help that.”
Much has been made about Jones’ regression following his impressive rookie season and about the supposed attitude issues he displayed throughout the 2022 campaign. According to ESPN, Jones finished the year 28th among qualified quarterbacks with a 35.9 total QBR and 26th with an 84.8 passer rating. He tossed 14 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions across 14 games.
