Former NFL head coach crushes Patriots QB Mac Jones after benching

Former NFL head coach and current ESPN personality Rex Ryan didn't hold back Monday while speaking about New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones after Jones was benched during Sunday's 38-3 loss at the Dallas Cowboys. 

"Are you referring to 'Peashooter Jones?' Here’s the thing: The guy doesn’t have a whole lot of arm talent," Ryan said about Jones during the ESPN "Get Up" program, per Hayden Bird of Boston.com. "I’ve said it from [the] jump, maybe the weakest arm for all starting quarterbacks in the league." 

Jones gifted the Cowboys scores with a fumble that was returned for a touchdown and a pick-six that occurred late in the second quarter after he delivered a pass that never should've been thrown in the first place. As Mike Reiss explained for ESPN, New England head coach Bill Belichick sat Jones in the third quarter of Sunday's defeat but insisted after the game that the 25-year-old will start when the 1-3 Patriots host the 2-2 New Orleans Saints Sunday. 

"He doesn’t have the power to throw it outside the numbers or vertically," Ryan added about Jones. "Why do they throw all those screens? I love his completion percentage. Yeah, he’s throwing screens and hitches and things like that. When he has to make plays, he can’t make them, and that’s a simple fact...I would love to defend against this guy. Are you kidding me? Like, this guy can’t throw." 

Jones was the subject of numerous trade rumors ahead of this year's draft but held on to the New England starting job over 2022 rookie Bailey Zappe, who reportedly never came close to unseating the 2021 first-round draft pick this summer. According to ESPN stats, Jones began Monday ranked 25th in the NFL among qualified players with a 44.8 adjusted QBR and an 80.8 passer rating on the season. He is 16th with 898 passing yards and has matched five touchdown passes with four interceptions across the season's first four games. 

The Patriots must decide about the fifth-year option attached to Jones's rookie contract next spring. Thus far, he has done nothing this season to convince Belichick and company that he's the club's long-term answer at the position.