Does Mac Jones Have Regrets From Time With Patriots? Jaguars QB Responds
Mac Jones’ time with the New England Patriots surely wasn’t as long nor as successful as he might have hoped, but the fourth-year quarterback isn’t looking back with any regret.
The Patriots decided to move on from Jones and traded the 2021 first-round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jones called it a mutual agreement. The trade became official Thursday, the second day of the league year, after initially being reported Sunday.
While speaking with reporters in Jacksonville on Thursday, Jones struck an optimistic tone regarding his time with the Patriots.
“Every experience is a good experience if you learn from it,” Jones responded when asked if he has any regrets, per the Jaguars. “The games that we lost, the things that happened, obviously you don’t ever want to lose, you want to win every game you play in. But I understand that’s sometimes really hard to do in the NFL.
“I don’t have regrets. I feel like I put everything out there, gave a lot to that organization and they gave a lot to me. So I’m going to do the same thing here, in a good way, and be myself, be Mac. And learn from Trevor (Lawrence) and CJ (Beathard) and the coaches here that have a lot of offensive background. That’ll be important to me and that’s a big reason why I feel like this is a good fit.”
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After helping the Patriots to a 10-7 record his rookie season, Jones’ development came to a screeching halt. He worked under former defensive play-caller Matt Patricia and Joe Judge in 2022, though the hiring of offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien didn’t help much in 2023.
Jones went 18-24 as a starter with New England. He was benched multiple times in 2023 before he ultimately lost his job to Bailey Zappe before Week 13. Jones was criticized for his on-field frustrations and poor body language the last two years.
“A lot of the great learning experiences,” Jones said about what he’ll remember most. “Learned from a great head coach, obviously one of the greatest of all-time. Been fortunate to work with some great head coaches and learned a lot. Played a lot of games, started a lot of games.
“Obviously things went the way they did, and my goal is to get the train back on the tracks. I think I can do that here.”
Jones will compete for the backup job behind Trevor Lawrence, who was drafted No. 1 overall in the same 2021 draft. Jones will become a free agent after the 2024 campaign, the final year of his rookie contract.