Mac Jones Takes Another Veiled Shot at Patriots From Jaguars Training Camp
By Jovan Alford
After a tumultuous 2023 season that saw them only win four games, the New England Patriots decided to clean house, parting ways with head coach Bill Belichick and trading Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a Day 3 draft pick.
Jones, who the Pats selected with the 15th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, started his New England career on a high note as a rookie, but it quickly went downhill over the last two years.
The former first-round pick was ultimately benched in the second half of the 2023 season for Bailey Zappe, signaling the end of his tenure in New England. However, Jones is now with the Jaguars, looking to get his career back on track and return to the QB we saw coming out of the University of Alabama.
The former first-round pick hasn’t minced words about his time in Foxborough, which included Jones saying in April that he can rap and shared the fact since he’s not in New England.
However, with Jags’ training camp underway, Jones talked about his time with the Patriots in a story from Jeff Howe of The Athletic. The former Pats starter threw a small but noticeable shot at the Pats, discussing how a change of scenery has helped him make football fun again.
"The whole change of scenery definitely helped. I’m just having fun playing football. I’m at my best when I’m keeping it loose, letting it rip, and kind of having that gunslinger mindset that I maybe had lost a little bit of. But I kind of got it back here."
- Mac Jones to Jeff Howe of The Athletic
Mac Jones: “The whole change of scenery definitely helped. I’m just having fun playing football. I’m at my best when I’m keeping it loose, letting it rip and kind of having that gunslinger mindset that I maybe had lost a little bit of. But I kind of got it back here.” https://t.co/1igRb2qfnU
— Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) July 26, 2024
It seems as if Jones is happier with the Jaguars than with the Patriots, which isn’t surprising, given how things played out last season. “The Patriot Way” isn’t glamorous and can almost hinder a player.
The former first-round quarterback feels comfortable back in his hometown and can reinvent himself behind Lawrence and under the tutelage of head coach Doug Pederson. With the Jags not picking up Jones’ fifth-year option, he has much to prove and play for after things spiraled out of control in New England.
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