Cyrus Jones: Patriots Cornerback Labels Rookie Season as an ‘Embarrassment’
New England Patriots rookie cornerback Cyrus Jones did not have the type of first season in the NFL that he imagined.
Taken in the second round out of Alabama by the New England Patriots, cornerback Cyrus Jones was expected to have a far better season than he had. Not only did he spend six games on the inactive list, he was more than an afterthought heading into the playoffs.
In a few ways Jones will enter the 2017 season as a rookie once again. This time the young cornerback will have a season behind him in which he will hopefully learn from his mistakes. Part of that fresh start will involve becoming more reliable in the return game and inserting himself into Bill Belichick’s defense, especially if the team loses cornerback Logan Ryan to free agency.
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With the team’s Super Bowl victory a week removed, Cyrus Jones posted to his Instagram account a declaration to make his sophomore season in the NFL a better one.
"“Reflecting back on my rookie season, this was far one of the most challenging times in my life,” Jones wrote. “I experienced a lot of pain, disappointment, embarrassment and overall dissatisfaction with myself. But through this time, I learned many lessons that as a man I can say I truly needed to learn…’Failure is another opportunity to begin again more intelligently’ and the things I went through this year made me better and wiser.”"
With most of his struggles coming in the return game, an area where he excelled in college, Jones went on to credit his teammates and the organization for reminding him of how much love he has for the game. He also vowed to come back in 2017 ready to work hard for his team and his fans.
A new attitude and outlook on the game is nice to see for the team’s highest draft pick of 2016. He has the talent and definitely now has the experience to show the team that drafted him the type of player he can be. Again, with Ryan testing the free agent market, Cyrus Jones may have the opportunity to have a much bigger role in Matt Patricia’s defense. Whether he embraces that opportunity will depend on his mental strength.
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