It was just five months ago when we were reading about how Mac Jones was in the best shape of his life. The second-year passer seemed to be growing into a true leader, hosting multiple workouts with Patriots wideouts and even throwing his own draft party — complete with a hibachi table. Bill Belichick was effusive in his praise, too. The surly head coach, who usually doesn’t dole out preseason compliments, said he saw “dramatic improvement” from Jones since his successful rookie campaign.
But it took only two wins from an unheralded fourth-round rookie against the lowly Lions and Browns to negate those good vibes. The Mac Jones smear campaign is in full force, and it’s downright puzzling.
How could a baby-faced 24-year-old have so many apparent enemies?
The crux of the supposed rift between the Patriots and Jones seemingly stems from his decision to rehab his high ankle sprain, opposed to opting for the tightrope surgery, like his predecessors at Alabama, Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer said as much this week on “The Dan Patrick Show.”
“[The Patriots] wanted [Jones] to get the 'tightrope' [surgery]," said Breer. "Initially when he got hurt with the high ankle sprain, it was thought to be a pretty severe high ankle sprain. He's seen guys go through this, and he thought, 'I'm going to be better off just rehabbing the injury.' And there was some level of disagreement there.”
It’s not unusual for players and teams to disagree about how to handle injuries. Teams usually want players to return as quickly as possible, whereas players are more inclined to worry about their long-term health. Jones is only in the second year of his NFL career. It’s understandable for him to be thinking about the future.
But the murmurs surrounding Jones’ status with the Patriots are about more than his decision to opt for rehab over surgery. They’re getting increasingly ugly, and question his character.
On Sunday morning — before Zappe threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns against the Browns — Breer said on NBC Sports Boston that Jones’ relationship with the team has “gone a little sideways.” ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio chimed in with a post of his own, writing there are “uncharacteristic rumblings surrounding the relationship between Jones and the Patriots.”
“There’s chatter that Jones isn’t thrilled with the situation there, starting with Belichick’s failure/refusal to replace skilled and experienced offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels with another skilled and experience designer and caller of plays,” he wrote.
Florio adds that quarterbacks coach Joe Judge has “become an advocate for Zappe.”
When pressed for more details Wednesday on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show,” Florio was curiously opaque. “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.”
In the same segment, Florio seemingly questioned the validity of his own scoop. “Is that a report? I don’t know. I’m just hearing it from people I trust,” he said.
That’s very odd. Florio is one of the most prominent NFL Insiders around. Yet, he’s dismissing a story that he published on his own website.
Is the “chatter” legitimate, or not?
We know that Ben Volin’s anecdote about Jones’ “attitude problem” was erroneous. The Globe’s Patriots reporter said Wednesday on “The Greg Hill Show” that Jones’ attitude problem is “obvious and everyone in the building knows it.” Volin was ambiguous about his sourcing, only mentioning that he received a direct message on Twitter from somebody around the Patriots.
As it turns out, that person doesn’t exist. A Patriots fan posted a screenshot depicting a conversation he had with Volin over DM, in which he 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.”
Volin apologized Thursday for his error.
It’s worth mentioning, however, that Volin said the previous night on NBC Sports Boston that Jones “needed to be humbled.”
Interestingly, Bill Belichick isn’t putting a kibosh on the Patriots’ QB controversy. He refuses to say Jones will get his job back, denying him the vote of confidence he continually gave to Cam Newton throughout his dreadful 2020 campaign.
The Patriots’ string of laughable opponents will continue this week with the Bears, and Jones’ camp apparently wants it known that he’s ready to play. Amidst all of this negativity, Pro Football Focus’ Doug Kyed tweeted Wednesday that Jones is at 85-to-90 percent, and it’s the team’s decision on whether he plays Monday night.
Meanwhile, it’s hard to decipher how much of this conjecture is concrete. Jason McCourty, who played for the Patriots, said on NFL Network he attended a Patriots charity event this week and everybody on the team “loves” Jones and Zappe.
But for whatever reason, that’s not the message we’re receiving.
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“Zappe Fever” is ratings gold: The Patriots put out a press release this week touting the exceptional ratings for their win over the Browns. It was the highest-rated 1:00 p.m. game of the season so far, peaking with 1.3 million viewers. The game delivered a 25.3 TV rating with a 71 share, which is higher than any share last season, including Tom Brady’s much-anticipated return to Gillette Stadium.
As chairman of the broadcast committee, we know that Kraft is especially attune to the ratings. Maybe that’s another reason the Patriots owner isn’t hiding his love for the rookie QB.
Kraft toeing the NFL line: Colts owner Jim Irsay dropped a bombshell this week when he said there’s merit to removing Daniel Snyder as owner of the Washington Commanders. But when Kraft was asked about Snyder, he demurred.
That’s not surprising. Kraft almost always toes the NFL line, dating back to when he publicly defended Roger Goodell over his handling of the Ray Rice scandal. Kraft has voted twice to give Goodell more money in the wake of Deflategate, including this week, which reportedly resulted in a screaming match with Jerry Jones.
In the end, Kraft is about protecting the shield.
ESPN is giving us more Stephen A: Variety reports that Stephen A. Smith will be hosting his own alternative broadcasts for select NBA games this season. It’s amazing that Smith is adding another show to his plate. He already hosts First Take, NBA Countdown and recently added his own podcast.
Does the man ever sleep?
