Why the Patriots didn’t play Marcus Jones on offense until Week 11
"The primary focus for us this year was to get Marcus healthy and to get Marcus ready to go as a cornerback and a punt returner," head coach Jerod Mayo said.
Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt caused a stir when he told reporters Thursday that he didn’t know cornerback Marcus Jones played offensive snaps with the team in the past before playing him at receiver in their Week 11 loss to the Rams.
Jerod Mayo didn’t seem to dispute Van Pelt’s claim when he was asked about it on Friday, sharing that he preferred Jones to keep his attention on playing at cornerback and punt returner this season.
“I knew this question was coming,” the Patriots coach said when asked if he has conversations with the other coaches on which players can be used in special packages. “Look, the primary focus for us this year was to get Marcus healthy and to get Marcus ready to go as a cornerback and a punt returner. That was the primary goal. That was our focus.
“I mean, how much time do we want to spend on gadget plays? He’s most valuable on the defensive side of the ball and punt return.”
To Mayo’s point, Jones suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder in Week 2 of the 2023 season, which required him to miss the remainder of the year. The third-year corner was healthy enough to participate in organized team activities (OTAs) in May and has been active for all 11 of the Patriots’ games to this point in the season.
But Jones apparently had the itch to play some offense again after he had four receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown as a rookie in 2022. He texted Van Pelt asking to get some reps on that side of the ball ahead of their Week 10 matchup against the Bears, the Patriots’ offensive coordinator shared.
As Jones seemed to take it upon himself to get some offensive reps, Mayo was asked if he should’ve let Van Pelt know about his history on that side of the ball in hindsight.
“Everyone in this building, everyone knows what he can do with the ball in his hands,” Mayo replied. “I mean, we see those things. Again, I would say the primary focus was for him to play corner.”
Jones was used on two offensive snaps in the Patriots’ loss to the Rams. He recorded a five-yard carry on his first play and was used as a decoy to allow Rhamondre Stevenson to get a nine-yard gain on a screen pass in his other snap.
While Mayo emphasized that the team views Jones as primarily a cornerback and a punt returner, he seemed willing to make exceptions for him to play on offense going forward.
“We’re a game plan team. We change up quite frequently and that just happened to be one of those packages for that game,” Mayo said when asked what caused him to change his mind.
Jones has had a solid season at corner, recording 43 total tackles and two fumble recoveries. In pass coverage, he’s given up 30 receptions on 49 targets for 352 yards, three touchdowns with an interception, per Pro Football Focus.
As a returner, Jones has been one of the best in the league. He’s returned 20 punts for 311 yards for a league-leading 15.6 yards per return.
Jones wants to continue to add offensive snaps to his workload. He isn’t sure if he’ll get more reps there, telling reporters on Thursday that it was “great to get back on the offensive side.” But Van Pelt seemed to hint that there might be more offensive snaps for Jones in the future.
“He obviously brings a lot of juice,” Van Pelt said. “Tremendous ball carrier, speed, his ability to see the field. Try to find some plays just to get our guys in the best position to make plays, and felt like he would give us a little spark there.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com