The relationship between New England Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Mac Jones is one of the top storylines to follow throughout the 2023 NFL season.
Jones’ angry outbursts during games and on the sidelines in his sophomore year were major talking points in Foxborough, with many taking this as a sign that he and Belichick weren’t on the same page. And leading up to the draft, it was reported that Belichick was actually shopping his starting quarterback.
Now there’s a new intriguing chapter in the Belichick-Jones saga. According to Mark Daniels of MassLive.com, the Patriots’ practice with the Green Bay Packers on Wednesday ended poorly to the point where Belichick lit into his QB and made the offense rerun a play:
“The Patriots were operating a 2-minute drill and it wasn’t a clean series for Jones and the offense. The pass rush put immense pressure on Jones, the receivers weren’t always separating and apparently, Bill Belichick wasn’t thrilled with his quarterback. This drill ended with Nick Folk kicking a field goal, but the Patriots coach was so upset he had his offense run back on the field to replay a down.
Jones attempted to hit Kendrick Bourne, but the receiver slipped, and the ball sailed out bounds. As the quarterback walked back to the sideline, his head coach let him have it. Belichick was clearly unhappy with something Jones and/or his offense did or didn’t do in this 2-minute drill.”
Per Daniels, Jones took ownership of the mistake that upset Belichick. On a more encouraging note for Patriots fans, Daniel stated that the third-year signal-caller “put together the best practice of the summer on Thursday in Green Bay”, completing 14-of-17 passes against the Packers that included “two highlight worthy throws”.
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The soon-to-be 25-year-old Jones was the best rookie QB of 2021, completing 67.6 percent of pass attempts for 3,801 yards and 22 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. But Jones struggled mightily as a sophomore, throwing just 14 touchdowns against 11 picks in 14 games (he missed three games with an ankle injury).
This simply feels like a make-or-break year for Jones in Foxborough. Needless to say, it’ll be interesting to see how he delivers with all the pressure in the world on his shoulders.
