Whether Mac Jones has done enough to earn Bill Belichick’s trust as New England’s starting quarterback remains to be seen.
But one thing that is certain at this point is that the No. 15 overall pick out of Alabama has done more than enough to earn the praise and respect of his Patriots teammates.
Throughout the spring and summer players have talked up Jones’ “swagger” and well documented work ethic. Others have noted his obvious competitive fire and clear leadership abilities.
Somewhere along the line, the word “great” always seems to be included in teammates’ descriptions of Jones’ first few months in Foxborough.
Following Tuesday’s training camp practice at Gillette Stadium, longtime Patriots team leader and All-Pro special teams captain Matthew Slater took the praise to an even more basic but telling level.
“I think he’s a great young man,” Slater said. “Character really counts when you talk about what we do off the football field, the way we carry ourselves. The way we approach our profession. The way we do things in the community. That translates to the football field. And I think Mac is a fine young man. His family should be proud of the way that they raised him, and the way he carries himself. The way that he commands respect of even guys like myself — older guys that have been here for a while. And he’s earned that respect by the way that he’s gone about his craft. So, he’s been a joy to work with.”
That’s a pretty powerful proclamation from maybe the most respect leader in the New England locker room.
On the field, with Cam Newton sidelined due to COVID protocols, Jones continued to get all the first-team reps on Tuesday. He had a bounce back performance after a lackluster Monday, including a pair of touchdowns early on that had him fired up, earned a fist bump from offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and even had defenders like Matt Judon good naturedly getting in the rookie QB’s ear for some competitive trash talking.
Throughout the locker room and all across the field, everyone seems to like what they are seeing from Jones.
“I think he’s been progressing really well, just taking everything from the meeting rooms, on the fields, and just executing it,” said tight end Jonnu Smith, the recipient of one of those early red zone TDs. “You can just tell he’s getting comfortable, and he’s settling in. Everything’s going to work out for him. He’s a hard worker, so I’m looking forward to seeing him do great things.”
