After a fantastic start to the season, the New England Patriots should look into what it will take to re-sign cornerback Marcus Jones sooner rather than later.
It's a contract year for the fourth-year corner, who has performed in a way through six weeks of the season that should earn him a large payday this offseason. He's quickly becoming one of the more coveted corners who'll be available this winter, leaving the Patriots to make an important decision in the coming weeks.
Patriots Must Extend Marcus Jones Quickly
That said, I don't think it would be wise for the Patriots to wait until the offseason to ink an extension with Jones. He's already shown to be an essential component of the defense and the team overall with his versatility in the return game.
This season, Jones is among the defensive leaders with his production in just about every statistical category.
- 27 Combined Tackles (T-4th)
- 20 Solo Tackles (T-3rd)
- 6 Pass Deflections (1st)
- 4 Tackles for Loss (T-3rd)
- 1 QB Hit (T-6th)
- 1 Interception (T-1st)
- 1 Sack (T-5th)
Jones is the best on the team at his position when it comes to pass coverage. He's been targeted the most out of all the cornerbacks (29), has the lowest pass rating (81.0), and he has the lowest yards per completion (9.9) for the number of targets he has. His 69.2 Pro Football Focus coverage grade is also 35th-best among 170 graded CBs.
The Patriots have called 62 blitzes this season, of which Jones has the third-most on the team (7), with only linebackers Robert Spillane (14) and Christian Elliss (10) with more. His speed coming off the edge has caused one sack and two pressures, and a hurry.
It’s worth noting that Jones is an undersized player who has had injury concerns during his career, but he proved himself worthy to head coach Mike Vrabel and a new coaching staff while also having the same impact on his teammates as they voted him to be a team captain this season.
In the last two weeks, we’ve seen Jones play much bigger than his 5-foot-8, 188-pound frame would suggest, climbing the ladder to defend passes against Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman (6’4”, 215 lbs.) and New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave (6’0”, 187 lbs.).
When it comes to a contract extension this season for a Patriots cornerback, most would assume it will be Christian Gonzalez, who is eligible for the team to pick up the fifth-year option on. However, Jones should be the priority, considering that he’ll be a free agent and Gonzalez won’t.
There’s an argument to be made that Jones is the more valuable player due to how versatile he is on defense and as a punt returner. He’s made a set of key plays in every game this season, and it’s fair to say that the Patriots don’t win some of their games without him this season.
Unless New England wants to compete with other CB-needy teams, it's time to extend Jones before the