Patriots captain praises 'resilient' Mac Jones amid uncertainty

Longtime New England Patriots special teams captain Matthew Slater praised quarterback Mac Jones on Tuesday for Jones' handling of what became a difficult year. 

"He’s a resilient young man," Slater said about Jones, as shared by Dakota Randall of NESN. "Playing quarterback is one of the toughest jobs in all of pro sports. Everything you do is analyzed to the nth degree. I mean, 'What did he wear? What did he eat? What’s he doing on his Instagram? Or workout?' You know, it’s hard." 

Jones failed on multiple occasions to hide his frustrations during games last season as he and the New England offense struggled to produce positive performances while working under assistant coaches Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. The 2021 first-round draft pick then reportedly landed in the doghouse of head coach Bill Belichick by going outside the organization for help to fix the club's offense, and Belichick may or may not have shopped Jones ahead of this year's draft. 

Jones seemingly is enjoying a fresh start with Bill O'Brien serving as his new offensive coordinator amid stories claiming that the 24-year-old has support from team owner Robert Kraft. Slater sounded confident Jones will reclaim the form that made him a Pro Bowl selection as a rookie. 

"But I think he’s shown a great deal of mental toughness," Slater added about Jones. "I think he’s learning, 'Hey, I’m just gonna focus on the things I can control, keep my head down, work hard, try and get better for our football team.' And I think that’s been the approach of a lot of our younger players and all of our players." 

According to ESPN stats, Jones finished the 2022 regular season ranked 28th among qualified players with a 36.1 adjusted QBR, and he recorded 14 touchdown passes with 11 interceptions across 14 games. He likely won't finish the upcoming campaign as New England's QB1 if he's responsible for similar numbers around New Year's Eve. 

New England must decide whether to pick up or decline the fifth-year option attached to Jones' rookie contract next spring.