Marcus Jones text message led to Alex Van Pelt installing offensive package

Jones played two offensive snaps last week against the Rams.

Marcus Jones has made it known he’s a defensive player first. But that didn’t stop him from reminding his offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt of his versatility.

Prior to the New England Patriots Week 10 matchup with the Chicago Bears, Jones shot Van Pelt a text — which he called a “casual reminder” — to let him know he’d be open to playing offense. At first, the text confused Van Pelt.

“I got a text from Marcus Jones, and I’m going back in my mind like, ‘Marcus would just come and talk to me in the building, I would think.’ So I was googling Marcus Joneses and there was a guy who came through Green Bay for a cup of coffee, and I was like, ‘Why would he be texting me?’ Then one of our coaches came and said Marcus is trying to get a hold of you.

“Always want guys that are self-starters, want to be part of it, so really appreciative for him to offer his duties up to us on the offensive side.”

Once Jones finally got his message relayed, Van Pelt went back to watch his 19 offensive snaps from the previous two seasons. It was too late in the week to install a package for the dynamic playmaker, but Van Pelt had things ready the next week against the Los Angeles Rams.

“That was the first it had come to my attention that he had played offensive plays. I’m glad that he did it,” Van Pelt said. “He obviously brings a lot of juice. Tremendous ball-carrier, speed, his ability to see the field. Try to find some plays just to get our guys in the best position to make plays, and felt like he would give us a little spark there.”

The first of Jones’ two offensive snaps came early in the third quarter. Aligning in the slot, Jones took a handoff for five yards after coming on a boomerang motion. The following drive, Jones was used in a similar fashion only as a decoy to help set up a screen pass to Rhamondre Stevenson for a nine-yard gain.

While Jones has again made it known defense is his priority, it’s a package Van Pelt will now try to build off of.

“He’s obviously got a special skill set,” Van Pelt said. “His return game is as good as there is, so as many times as we can use him and put the ball in his hands or maybe use him as a decoy, we’ll see. But he does bring some value. After last week’s game, really excited about maybe moving forward with him.”

“I like the offensive side, but I’m always a defensive guy,” Jones added. “You can tell the coach one thing but that don’t mean it will happen. So I mean, it was great to get back on the offensive side and everything like that, but you just never know. It’s a week-to-week thing.”

Debuting on offense in 2022, Jones sparked a Patriots offense by catching four passes for 78 yards and a touchdown. That was nothing new for the corner as he caught 15 passes during his time at the University of Houston.

“People talk about Travis Hunter. That’s Marcus,” defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington said. “He did that in college too.”