Patriots tackle speaks candidly about why QB Mac Jones may have flopped

Patriots tackle Trent Brown made some revealing comments recently about the play of beleaguered New England quarterback Mac Jones.

“I know people are down on Mac and whatnot, but I don’t think it’s his fault,” Brown said in an interview with  NESN’s Dakota Randall. "… Mac’s rookie year, took us to the playoffs. He had a good O-line in front of him. He had a quarterback coach. And he had an offensive coordinator that he had a relationship with, could feel comfortable with. Josh (McDaniels) leaves, and we don’t have a career offensive coordinator. We just had somebody (Matt Patricia) who was holding the spot … doing a favor, or something.”

In 2021, his rookie season, Jones threw for  22 touchdowns to 13 interceptions and had a 67.6% completion rate. The Patriots finished 10-7 and made the playoffs.

In 2022, Jones saw a massive drop in production after offensive coordinator McDaniels left to become Las Vegas Raiders HC and was replaced by former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who had little to no experience running an offense. Jones threw for 14 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, and the team missed out on the playoffs, finishing 8-9.

This season, with new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien calling plays, Jones fell off even more and the team benched him after 11 games. In 2023, Jones threw for 10 touchdowns to 12 interceptions and had a 2-9 record as a starter. 

When asked about what would happen if the Patriots drafted a quarterback with the third overall pick, Brown continued to defend Jones. He said a younger, more talented quarterback would still struggle under New England’s current system. 

“I think he’d see the same set of issues,” he said.

Brown’s comments are alarming. If Jones leaves New England and succeeds elsewhere, the blame for the 25-year-old’s failure should be placed on New England head coach Bill Belichick for misusing him.