New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones has gone from the possible face of the franchise to a forgotten man in less than three years.
A first-round pick in 2021, Jones had a sensational rookie season and seemed poised as a worthy successor to Tom Brady.
Now, MassLive reports the Patriots are not going to pick up Jones’ fifth-year option, making him a free agent after next season.
How could this happen? MassLive.com did a comprehensive report on Jones’ downfall, talking to more than a dozen sources around the Patriots. Some of the reasons for Jones’ changing fortunes were well-known. It’s no secret he didn’t get along with former head coach Bill Belichick.
But the MassLive report found some surprising factors.
For example, a couple of sources pointed out that Jones did not take charge of leadership, describing him as a “happy-go-lucky” personality afraid to call teammates out.
“He was part of the problem as far as what he was doing, who he was character-wise. He’s not a bad character guy, but as a guy that wasn’t quite the leader of the group,” one person told MassLive. “He just wanted to be one of the guys.”
Jones also felt let down by the Patriots’ lack of communication about their plans for him. Headed into the 2023 season finale against the New York Jets, he was surprised to learn 90 minutes before the game he would be inactive.
That lack of communication was not uncommon. In fact, before that game, Jones told a Jets staffer he appreciated how the team had handled their decision to bench quarterback Zach Wilson.
Other factors behind Jones’ decline in New England:
- Jones had three offensive coordinators in his first three seasons, in Josh McDaniels, Matt Patricia and Bill O’Brien. One source told MassLive “what the Patriots did with the offensive coaching staff was a recipe for disaster for a young quarterback.”
- Once Jones tried to play outside his “comfort zone,” struggling to make plays where nothing existed, the mistakes compounded.
- Personnel issues also hurt Jones. The report notes that the team’s offensive line featured 10 different combinations in 17 games this season.
But the communication divide between Jones and Belichick was the killer.
The report noted, “The relationship between Belichick and Jones ended so poorly that sources all but guaranteed Jones wouldn’t be back with the Patriots had Belichick returned.:
Still, there’s a feeling by some that Jones got unfairly blamed for much deeper problems.
“It’s a team game,” said one starter. “It was hard – especially at the quarterback position. It wasn’t on one person.”
