Welcome to the Mac Jones smear campaign
The Boston Globe’s Ben Volin apologized Thursday for relaying an erroneous tidbit on “The Greg Hill Show” about Mac Jones.
On Wednesday, Volin said he received a direct message on Twitter from somebody around the Patriots who said Jones’ “attitude problem is obvious and everyone in the building knows it.” Shortly thereafter, a Patriots fan posted a screenshot depicting a conversation he had with Volin over DM.
The fan said he has a “buddy who works over at Gillette selling season ticket packages” and heard the Patriots started Brian Hoyer over Bailey Zappe against the Packers, because Jones’ “camp made it very clear that he didn’t want Zappe to jump in.”
Thursday morning, Volin admitted he was duped. “Hey everybody, just want to acknowledge that I made a mistake Wednesday on @WEEI,” he wrote. “I should have not spoken of the DM without vetting it first. No excuses, It won’t happen again. I appreciate the feedback and comments I’ve received.”
The previous night, on NBC Sports Boston, Volin said Jones “needed to be humbled.”
There have been numerous reports in recent days about an apparent rift between Jones and the Patriots. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported the Patriots wanted Jones to undergo surgery for his high ankle sprain, but the second-year passer opted for rehab.
On Sunday, Breer said on NBC Sports Boston that Jones’ relationship with the Patriots has “gone a little sideways.”
ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio chimed in with a post of his own about the “uncharacteristic rumblings” regarding Jones and the Patriots.
When pressed for more detail Wednesday on “The Greg Hill Show,” Florio was also vague.
“I’ve just mentioned it a few times, and I’ve written about it in a vague, loose way that something is amiss,” he said. “I didn’t go to journalism school. I’ve learned it all on the job the last 20 years.”