Mac Jones relishes downtime after ‘longest year’ of his football career
"It’s been like almost two years of football. I love football... but it’s always good to step away and evaluate what you can get better at too.”
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Patriots quarterback Mac Jones is reflecting on his rookie season in the NFL.
He started all 17 games of his rookie season and outperformed expectations for much of the year before hitting a wall at the end. He helped to lead New England back to the playoffs after the team missed the postseason the year before. To top it off, Jones played in the Pro Bowl.
But as successful as the last two seasons have been for him dating back to college, the soon-to-be second-year NFL starter is enjoying some time away from it all for the first time in a while.
“I think back to my freshman year at Alabama. You’re kind of figuring everything out and then you get older and you’re just more experienced. Everything: The media, the games, everything,” Jones said in a video interview published on the Patriots website and social media pages. “I think that’s the fun part of about everything in the offseason. You get a second to just catch your breath and figure everything out. This has definitely been the longest year. It’s been like almost two years of football. I love football. I love to keep going as best I can but it’s always good to step away and evaluate what you can get better at, too.”
To put it all in perspective, Jones was jumping right into preparations for the NFL Draft — as many other college prospects are now doing — after having just won a national championship with Alabama. Then, once the Patriots took him with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2021 draft, he had to immerse himself immediately in his playbook and prepare for rookie minicamps and upcoming team works.
Before long, though, it’ll be time for Jones to prime himself for that second-year leap everyone is hoping to see. So he’s not planning on straying too far from Foxborough.
“I want to be back close to home in New England in the offseason because we obviously have our place there,” Jones said. “Just figuring out ways to be a better quarterback and then do whatever we can to put more points up on the board so we can win more games.”
Part of that improvement will come from “getting stronger and cleaning up on my diet,” according to the ice cream-loving Jones. But he’ll also need to prepare for some adjustments in his coaching with the departure of Patriots offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels. While Jones has said he’s not sweating the change too much, alterations in offensive coaching have certainly buried other young quarterbacks early in their careers.
Former Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia told NBC Sports Boston that Jones “deserves some credit” for his own performance and ability to succeed in the NFL.
“He’s highly invested in this program. I think he understands the offense,” he said. “… I think they’ve got a great system that’s been in place for a long time. It’s plenty expansive. It can always be whittled down if they think there’s a need for it. But I saw Mac doing things last year you don’t see many rookie quarterbacks in their first year come in and do within this system. I think they just build on it.”
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