One of the first orders of business of newly-minted New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo will be what to do with quarterback Mac Jones.
Of course, it will be more of an organizational decision than one that Mayo will simply make himself, but Mayo will almost surely have some say in what the franchise decides to do with Jones.
Mayo was asked about Jones during an appearance on The Greg Hill Show on WEEI this week, and he gave a rather mixed response when prompted.
“When I think about Mac, he obviously has talent,” Mayo said. “And, once again, we’re in the evaluation phase. I will say with that, the confidence of a player is very fragile, especially these players now—like I am an old man or something like that. But confidence goes a long way and honestly, as I continue to evaluate, as we continue to evaluate as a coaching staff, we’ll see.”
So, Mayo likes Jones’ talent, but he doesn’t seem to crazy about his confidence. That doesn’t exactly sound like a ringing endorsement, and it’s not surprising that Mayo is refusing to commit to Jones one way or the other.
The former linebacker indicated that the Patriots will be looking for a quarterback this offseason but made sure to qualify his statement by saying he thinks Jones can still play.
“But you know these guys can play football, they are here for a reason,” added Mayo. “It’s not like we went over to Brockton High School and just pulled some people over here, right? These guys are players and at the end of the day, there has to be a shared vision. … The players have to really feel like they are being heard. They have to feel like they have some stake in the game plan. So if it doesn’t go right, the accountability piece starts to show up.”
Obviously, Mayo wants to help maintain whatever trade value Jones has, and New England would lose all leverage if Mayo goes out and says that Jones won’t be playing in 2024. So, Mayo’s diplomacy when it comes to Jones is understandable.
It will certainly be interesting to see what Jerod Mayo does in his first offseason as Pats coach, and the Mac Jones situation will definitely be one to monitor.
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