The Mac Jones Era with the New England Patriots hasn’t gone how he or the franchise projected when they drafted him in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Before the Patriots lost to the Las Vegas Raiders, a loss that moved the team to 1-5 on the season, a report surfaced that the Patriots would keep Jones on a “short leash” going forward. Bill Belichick had benched Jones in their previous two games, both losses.
Jones played all but three snaps in the loss to the Raiders. He threw for 200 yards, though also threw a horrible interception in the first half.
After the game, he reacted to the reports of the short leash.
“No, just because I don’t really pay attention to that stuff,” Jones said on WEEI on Monday, according to Lauren Campbell of masslive.com. “Obviously, we talk about it on the interviews and shows. For me, I just want to go out there and try and execute a little bit better each week and get better. Every week’s different. Some weeks you’re going to run the ball a lot or play action a lot, and some week’s you’re going to throw and do all those things.
“It just depends on the week. And I try not to focus on all of the emotions from the outside and really just focus on the team, because I really care about the team, and I really do have a really good relationship with a lot of the guys. We want to do better. We’re trying. We’re working, and we’ve just got to continue to do that.”
The Patriots host the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
