The biggest story surrounding the New England Patriots this offseason is Bill Belichick reportedly trying to trade Mac Jones. That happened after he became enraged at the young quarterback when he sought help outside of the organization for New England’s offensive struggles last season.
In February, former NFL quarterback Chris Simms said Jones wound up in Belichick’s “doghouse” after he went looking for help beyond the borders of Foxborough. Further, Belichick would not commit to Jones when speaking at the NFL owners’ meetings this offseason.
However, it appears Mac Jones had a reason why he reached out, according to players on the team.
According to NBC Sports, anonymous players on the team are claiming that the team was not coaching Mac Jones at all. For that reason, he made the decision to reach out for help.
“I heard what I would best describe as a collective rolling of eyes from folks with the team on Mac seeking out help and potentially being traded in part because of that. What I’ve been told from a variety of different folks — with the team, formerly with the team, understanding of the situation, watching the situation from afar — they will put it very plainly: They don’t believe Mac Jones was being coached last year, so Mac Jones reached out to people for some coaching.”
NBC Sports’ Phil Perry added that Patriots players are essentially rolling their eyes at the entire situation.
“The rolling of eyes that I hear is when that situation gets laid out, people look at that and say, ‘OK, I get it. You’re not looking for your players to do that. But he wasn’t being coached. He sought out coaching, and now he’s the problem? What are we talking about here?”
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The quarterback controversy between Jones and Zappe last year was also an alleged point of frustration among players. The dysfunction eventually boiled over with Jones yelling F-bombs on the field and visibly expressing anger. Players in the locker room as well as the fan base seemed to prefer Zappe and they might get their wish with Belichick still being upset with Jones.
After the Patriots missed the playoffs in January, Bill O’Brien was announced as the new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The move came after Patriots owner Robert Kraft expressed his unhappiness regarding the offensive staff.
In the 2022 season, Jones completed 65.2 percent of his passes for 2,997 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions with an 84.8 passer rating over 14 games.
The Patriots finished 8-9 and third in the AFC East last season.
