The Patriots' wonderkid is now a captain.
Prior to Wednesday's practice, Bill Belichick named Mac Jones one of the Patriots' six team captains heading into Week 1 of the regular season, according to multiple sources.
The second-year quarterback will join center David Andrews, who has held the honor for six straight seasons, as an offensive captain.
"I think it's really cool," Jones told reporters after his captaincy was announced on Wednesday. "I think I have a lot of work to do. I want to become an even better leader…I gonna learn from the older guys like I did when I first got here. I'm going to continue to do that, and hopefully some of the young guys can come to me…I'll be happy to help anybody on our team."
On the defensive side of the ball, Deatrich Wise Jr. was named a team captain for the first time. He'll join Devin McCourty and Ja'Whaun Bentley.
Matthew Slater, the longest-tenured member of the team, will once again serve as a captain, representing the special teams.
Jones has pushed to be seen as captain material throughout training camp, doing little things like team-building with the offensive line during individual drills and leading celebrations after big plays for the offense.
Of course, he's also observed some of the challenges of leadership -- mainly that everyone watches how you react to things, especially misfortune. Jones has certainly showed his share of frustration during the preseason in practice and in games. But when speaking to reporters, he's continued to preach positivity and patience as the Patriots' offense finds its way through the wilderness.
"Anything you do, you try to be positive and optimistic and just figure out the solution to the issue. That's what every good problem-solver does," he said Wednesday. "That's what we're doing. I feel really good with where we're at. Just got to do it today. That's really where it starts -- have a good day today."
