Patriots' JuJu Smith-Schuster offers praise for QB Mac Jones

Add wide receiver and free-agency acquisition JuJu Smith-Schuster to the list of New England Patriots players who have offered public support for quarterback Mac Jones this offseason. 

"I think his role, his leadership is something that I’ve seen from afar," Smith-Schuster said about Jones while speaking with reporters on Tuesday, as shared by Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "His work ethic is hard — he’s a hard-working guy. Very, very smart at what he does in just working on his craft." 

Jones' name has generated sports headlines on a weekly basis after it was reported in early April that head coach Bill Belichick "shopped" the 2021 first-round draft pick, presumably in part because Jones supposedly landed in Belichick's doghouse after seeking outside advice when New England's offense was struggling during the 2022 season. 

Since that time, Patriots linebacker Josh Uche has referred to Jones as "our quarterback," and it was later reported that the 24-year-old "has a ton of support in the locker room." New Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien has vowed that everybody associated with the team's offense "is starting with a clean slate," and ESPN's Mike Reiss noted this past Saturday that Belichick finally gave Jones a public vote of confidence after the team passed on drafting Kentucky Wildcats product Will Levis.

"But for Mac, though, the sky is the limit," Smith-Schuster continued. "I think with the guys that we have here and all the weapons, it’s going to be a fun year." 

Smith-Schuster signed a three-year, $33M contract that has a base value of $25.5M and includes $16M in guaranteed money to join the Patriots in March and has since made it known on multiple occasions he wanted to play for Belichick. It remains to be seen if backing Jones is the best way to get on Belichick's good side, especially if the quarterback has to compete with 2022 rookie Bailey Zappe for the starting job this summer as some expect.