After the New England Patriots icon Tom Brady headed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following a 20-season career, neither the Patriots managed to keep up their strong position in the NFL, nor did the franchise’s coach Bill Belichick find his love in any other quarterback of the team. Their young QB Mac Jones is one of the victims in the post-Brady era.
The Patriots coach has frequently demonstrated his dissatisfaction with Mac and he has not even officially named the dual-threat starter of the franchise, even being listed ahead of everyone as QB1 on their unofficial depth chart. Recently, the HC once again lost his cool on Jones, albeit the athlete took all the blame on himself.
Jones accepts blame after a heated exchange with Bill Belichick
According to Jones‘ explanation, Bill didn’t want his team to limit to just a field goal during a two-minute drill, instead, he expected them to score a touchdown on the drive. However, the players were enjoying scoring a second-time field goal after the initial one and it triggered the New England HC enough to throw his quarterback an earful.
“So, we scored on the two-minute drive with a field goal, and then we just wanted to try a situation again. We just kind of redid the situation, I guess. That was fun, I guess, but it was my fault. I think it was just a miscommunication between all of us. But it was fine.”
The Patriots are enjoying their joint practice with the Green Bay Packers ahead of the regular season. The 24-year-old signal-caller happily embraced the harsh words from his coach and cited optimism to make the camp session successful.
“It was a good learning experience. It’s too hard to explain in football terms to the media and stuff, but it was kind of a nuance, because we kind of repeated a situation we just did, you know what I’m saying? So that’s what we need, though, so both teams can get the situation, try and practice it and then do it again to get it right.”
Even after spending a phenomenal rookie season in 2021 by ensuring a playoff appearance and a Pro Bowl selection, Mac could not keep the trust of his team for a long tenure as his completion rate dropped, average yards per attempt, as well as touchdown rate, witnessed a major downturn last year, and hence, he has nothing but to be poised after getting scolded by the coach.
How long is Mac Jones’s contract with the Patriots?
After being drafted with the No. 15 overall pick in Round 1 of the 2021 NFL Draft, Jones has two years left on his rookie contract. In 2021, New England signed him to a fully guaranteed four-year, $15,586,352 deal including a $8,695,528 signing bonus.
The Alabama Crimson Tide star will carry salary cap hits of $4.25 million in 2023 and $4.95 million in 2024 before the Patriots team reaches a conclusion on whether to pick up the fifth-year option. Belichick’s team will have time until May 2024 to pick up his fifth-year option for the 2025 season. If the young star’s fifth-year option is exercised, his salary would be just over $23 million in 2025 (fully guaranteed), per Over The Cap.
Meanwhile, the New England squad is set to face off against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1. What’s your prediction regarding the match?
