‘He’s our quarterback’: Josh Uche gives support to Mac Jones amid questions about the QB’s future
"I've seen his work ethic and his tenacity. I think he's a dog."
While his head coach has yet to show a sign of public support this offseason, Mac Jones received another vote of confidence from a member of the Patriots’ defense.
Linebacker and 2022 standout Josh Uche praised Jones’s character and work ethic in an interview on NBC Sports Boston’s “Patriots Talk Podcast” with Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry, expressing confidence in the quarterback as he enters his third season.
“When it comes to Mac, I love Mac,” Uche said. “I mean, he’s a competitor. Somebody who I’ve gone to war with and practiced with. I’ve seen his work ethic and his tenacity. I think he’s a dog.
“That’s me personally, having worked with Mac and knowing what I know about him. Listen, he’s a dog. That’s all I can say, man. He’s our quarterback.”
Uche is the third member of the Patriots’ 2022 defense, which ranked fifth in the league, to support Jones after the quarterback’s struggles in his second season. Pro Bowl linebacker Matthew Judon had Jones’s back when asked about the quarterback in an interview with NFL.com’s Grant Gordon in February.
“I think we’ve got a great deal of confidence in Mac,” Judon said. “And we’re gonna see, because we know what type of player he can be. We saw it at the collegiate level, high school level, and we saw it at a pro level. And so that’s what we need. He knows that. And we’re going to be backin’ him just as long as he’s our quarterback, as long as he’s on the team, we’re gonna be backin’ him. And I don’t plan that he’s going anywhere anytime soon.”
Devin McCourty discussed Jones’s potential to be the next great leader of the Patriots at his retirement ceremony in March a few weeks after defending him in an appearance on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.”
“What I love about Mac is that Mac came into a leadership role as a quarterback and he speaks to what he thinks,” McCourty said, adding that it “speaks volumes” Jones was a captain in his second season with the team. He also added then that he thinks the “sky is the limit” for Jones and is hopeful that Bill O’Brien will help bring out the best in him in 2023.
But there have been some questions surrounding Jones’s future with the team after struggling in 2022. Patriots coach Bill Belichick hasn’t said that Jones will be the starter in 2023 when asked on both occasions this offseason, leading some to think Bailey Zappe could have a chance to be the team’s starting quarterback.
Even though he supported Jones, Uche isn’t going to worry about whatever Belichick decides to do at quarterback.
“At the end of the day, it’s up to coach Belichick to make the best decision for the team,” Uche said. “My job is to be a player. To go out there and do my job. So, leaving the coaching decisions up to them, that’s kind of what helped me focus more.”
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