What Bill Belichick said about Mac Jones having to ‘reestablish’ himself as starting QB
"We all have to reestablish ourselves every year. That’s what this league is."
Bill Belichick said he “absolutely” still views Mac Jones the same way he did heading into last season when the quarterback seemed to be in a better situation with the coach.
But, he declined to say whether Jones will be New England’s quarterback next year.
“Yeah, I mean look, Mac has been our quarterback for two years,” Belichick said. “And as I tell the team every year, each player, each coach, we all have to reestablish ourselves every year. That’s what this league is. That’s for all of us. ’23 is 23.”
It was a pretty tepid response in comparison to the beginning of the 2021 season when Belichick said Cam Newton was the starting quarterback.
It’s also consistent with the way Belichick has answered questions about Jones this offseason. He said Jones has the ability to play the position and will be given the opportunity to compete for the job. Beyond that, Belichick hasn’t shown much commitment to Jones through his words.
The Patriots took action this offseason, hiring Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien who said Jones will have a clean slate this year. After a Pro Bowl rookie season, Jones and the Patriots’ offense suffered through a mediocre 2022.
Through the first three rounds of the draft, the Patriots have not selected any offensive players. They picked cornerback Christian Gonzalez, defensive end Keion White, and linebacker Marte Mapu.
“There are a lot of different ways to build a team,” Belichick said. “This is one part of it. Free agency was part of it [and we] didn’t sign a lot of defensive players in free agency. Most of the signings were on offense.”
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