Patriots' Mac Jones says 'everything's good' with Panthers' Brian Burns after dirty play last season
As is the case for any rookie quarterback, Mac Jones of the New England Patriots experienced plenty of ups and downs during his debut NFL season. However, his most controversial on-the-field moment, to date, came during a game at the Carolina Panthers last November when he appeared to twist the ankle of Carolina defensive end Brian Burns in the opening quarter of what became a 24-6 Patriots victory:
Jones later claimed that he made such a tackle because he thought Burns had the football. Burns initially didn't buy that explanation and responded to the incident by saying that "it would be nice to have an apology," but Jones did not oblige because he had "already addressed that situation."
The Patriots will host the Panthers for a preseason showdown on Friday, and the teams have endured two consecutive days of fights during joint practices leading up to that game. One piece of positive news is that it appears Burns won't be "hunting" Jones down this week as he somewhat jokingly suggested last fall.
"Yeah, I talked with Brian," Jones told reporters about a conversation that occurred this past winter, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. "We already made up at the Pro Bowl, and everything’s good. He’s a great player and I just love watching him on film: how he can speed-rush. He’s got good power and he’s just a great football player. He really doesn’t like to talk, he just kind of keeps getting after it and keeps getting after it and I’m kind of the same way. So, we’re definitely friends now. It’s all good."
Considering what happened in November and what's taken place this week, New England head coach Bill Belichick may nevertheless decide to keep Jones away from opposing players through Friday evening's contest just to be safe.
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