Report sheds light on Mac Jones’s ‘biggest downfall’ and when Bill Belichick stopped speaking to him
Jones reportedly had a "broken" relationship with Belichick.
After a pair of disappointing seasons, Mac Jones’s future with the Patriots is uncertain. The 2021 first-round pick has one year left on his contract before the Patriots have to decide whether or not to exercise the fifth-year team option on Jones’s rookie deal.
The Patriots aren’t planning to pick up Jones’s fifth-year option, according to Mark Daniels of MassLive.
But, the Patriots haven’t ruled out bringing Jones back next year with a fresh start under new coach Jerod Mayo, Daniels wrote.
“The quarterback has a clean slate with Mayo and could remain on the roster,” Daniels wrote. “But the team won’t hesitate to move him if the right deal comes across their desk.”
An unnamed source told Daniels that Jones’s relationship with former Patriots coach Bill Belichick was “broken.” By the end of the season, the pair had stopped communicating to the point where no one told Jones he would be demoted to third string for the season finale against the Jets.
It was reportedly so bad that Jones told a Jets staffer that he appreciated the way New York handled its quarterback situation with Zach Wilson. The Athletic reported that the Jets told Wilson that they plan to trade him in the offseason.
Things weren’t this way in the beginning. Jones had a promising rookie season during which he led the Patriots to a winning record, a playoff appearance, and made the Pro Bowl. He hasn’t accomplished any of those things since.
Where things began to go sideways, Daniels reports, was when offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left to coach the Raiders and was replaced by Matt Patricia.
Jones “showed resistance” against switching over to the new offensive system, which angered Belichick. Jones struggled on the field and grew frustrated with his results. Belichick’s frustration with the quarterback intensified as the struggles continued.
By Week 12 of this past season, Belichick reportedly “stopped speaking” to Jones. Belichick chose to start Bailey Zappe for the final six games of the season.
Still, Jones remained part of the problem according to Daniels.
“He was part of the problem as far as what he was doing, who he was character-wise,” a source told Daniels. “He’s not a bad character guy, but as a guy that wasn’t quite the leader of the group. He just wanted to be one of the guys.”
Jones’s “biggest downfall” was playing outside of his comfort zone and freelancing outside of the offensive system, Daniels wrote. Frustration with receivers and offensive line played a role in this. The Patriots tied for the lowest scoring offense in the league. The entire unit could have played better, not just the quarterback.
But ultimately, Jones turned the ball over more than he scored and the team lost faith in him because of it. Will he get another opportunity to start for the Patriots with Belichick out of the building? That’s unknown for the moment, according to Daniels.
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