The new regime for the New England Patriots seems to be making it very clear that Mac Jones need to either shape up or ship out.
In a recent interview, Patriots general manager Eliot Wolf seemed to take a clear shot at their incumbent starting quarterback by highlighting how important “body language on the field” is to the quarterback position. He then said that he doesn’t want to see a quarterback “throwing his hands up in the air” after a bad play.
“Body language on the field is very important at that position. You don’t want a guy that’s throwing his hands up after a bad play or you can see him physically pointing at someone,” Wolf said, via @SavageSports_ on X.
SavageSports also shared a picture of Jones doing exactly that, which strongly suggests that Wolf was talking about him specifically.
But that really shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Jones appeared to be on the outs with the organization even before the Patriots dismissed Bill Belichick as their head coach.
In the span of three years he has gone from a Pro Bowler and Rookie of the Year runner-up to potentially being gone from the organization entirely and then having precious few opportunities to be a backup, let alone a starter, in 2024.
Maybe Wolf is just trying to light a fire under Jones rather than get rid of him entirely. Quarterbacks don’t grow on trees and if Jones’ career can be salvaged and he can return to being a high-efficiency passer, then maybe he has a future with the team.
These next few weeks will likely give us the answer.