Former Patriots assistant discusses Mac Jones' relationship with teammates

Rumors regarding how New England Patriots players allegedly feel about quarterback Mac Jones have hovered over the club since Bailey Zappe enjoyed some success playing in Jones' place last season. 

Former Patriots assistant to the coaching staff Michael Lombardi touched upon the subject during the latest edition of "The GM Shuffle" podcast. 

"Nobody wants to hang out with Mac Jones," Lombardi explained, according to Conor Ryan of Boston.com. "Nobody wants to hang out with him. You can see it on these teams. So when you see a bad quarterback like [undrafted New York Giants rookie Tommy DeVito] -- they’ll hang out with him. They’ll go over to his house and have chicken parm. Like, they like him. He’s no good -- they like him, though. And I think that’s where we lose sight of it a little bit when we’re evaluating these quarterbacks. Because what is the likability of the player?"

Amid multiple November reports claiming some or most teammates had lost faith in Jones, MassLive Patriots reporter Mark Daniels noted following New England's 10-6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Germany on Nov. 12 that players inside the club's locker room seemed to purposely avoid the 25-year-old following the game. Lombardi suggested that wasn't a one-off. 

"All the things, you can see there’s a disdain for him," Lombardi said about Jones. "Like you can see -- there’s no sense of energy, there’s no, 'Hey, he’s my guy, I love this guy.' No, no. … He blames everybody through his body language, through his mechanics."

In fairness to Jones, Patriots linebacker Jahlani Tavai defended the signal-caller when Tavai said earlier this month the 2021 first-round draft pick "hasn't lost any of us on the team." Of course, that was before head coach Bill Belichick pulled Jones from this past Sunday's loss at the Giants and before Belichick reportedly benched Jones in favor of Zappe for this coming Sunday's home game versus the Los Angeles Chargers. 

The 2-9 Patriots appear on track to decline the fifth-year option for 2025 attached to Jones' rookie contract next spring. At this point, New England making a clean break from Jones when the new league year opens in March may be what's best for everyone involved.