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Patriots captain praises 'resilient' Mac Jones amid uncertainty
Longtime New England Patriots special teams captain Matthew Slater praised quarterback Mac Jones on Tuesday for Jones' handling of what became a difficult year.
"He’s a resilient young man," Slater said about Jones, as shared by Dakota Randall of NESN. "Playing quarterback is one of the toughest jobs in all of pro sports. Everything you do is analyzed to the nth degree. I mean, 'What did he wear? What did he eat? What’s he doing on his Instagram? Or workout?' You know, it’s hard."
Jones failed on multiple occasions to hide his frustrations during games last season as he and the New England offense struggled to produce positive performances while working under assistant coaches Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. The 2021 first-round draft pick then reportedly landed in the doghouse of head coach Bill Belichick by going outside the organization for help to fix the club's offense, and Belichick may or may not have shopped Jones ahead of this year's draft.
Jones seemingly is enjoying a fresh start with Bill O'Brien serving as his new offensive coordinator amid stories claiming that the 24-year-old has support from team owner Robert Kraft. Slater sounded confident Jones will reclaim the form that made him a Pro Bowl selection as a rookie.
"But I think he’s shown a great deal of mental toughness," Slater added about Jones. "I think he’s learning, 'Hey, I’m just gonna focus on the things I can control, keep my head down, work hard, try and get better for our football team.' And I think that’s been the approach of a lot of our younger players and all of our players."
According to ESPN stats, Jones finished the 2022 regular season ranked 28th among qualified players with a 36.1 adjusted QBR, and he recorded 14 touchdown passes with 11 interceptions across 14 games. He likely won't finish the upcoming campaign as New England's QB1 if he's responsible for similar numbers around New Year's Eve.
New England must decide whether to pick up or decline the fifth-year option attached to Jones' rookie contract next spring.
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Shane Steichen dropped a big hint about the Colts’ QB battle
The Indianapolis Colts have yet to name their starting quarterback for the 2025 season, but coach Shane Steichen may have dropped a big hint about who the choice may be. Steichen said Saturday that he was close to making a decision between Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson in the ongoing camp battle. He may have tipped his hand, however, when answering a question about what traits he was looking for in his starter. “I think it’s the most consistent guy,” Steichen said, via Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star. “I really do, because at the end of the day, you’ve got to be able to move the football consistently up and down the field, and making good decisions. You know what I mean? I mean, at the end of the day, you can have splash plays, but if you’re doing that sparingly and up and down. … I think it’s got to be on a consistent basis, to get to where we want to go.” The knock on Richardson all along has been his inconsistency, and it is a bad sign for his prospects that Steichen put such an emphasis on that as part of his answer. Richardson’s physical talents are undeniable, but his decision-making has left something to be desired, and the offense has at times stalled out with him at the helm of it. Jones does not bring Richardson’s big-play potential, but would likely leave the Colts with a better idea of what they will get every Sunday. Richardson has put in extra work to try to win the job, but has been sidelined for a large part of the offseason with a shoulder injury, coupled with a dislocated pinky suffered during the preseason opener. It has also been suggested that Jones entered camp as the favorite, so Richardson had to play well enough to supplant him. Jones started Saturday’s preseason game and went 7-of-11 for 101 yards. Richardson went 6-of-11 for 73 yards, but he had one big play negated due to a penalty. The Colts ultimately lost 23-19 to the Green Bay Packers.
Chicago Bears: A running back trade has just opened up
Forget trading the house and buying high for an aging Trey Hendrickson; the Chicago Bears have another player to think about getting in on before the regular season. On offense, the Bears have everything they need besides a left tackle and running back depth. Most of the focus in training camp has been on quarterback Caleb Williams and the passing game, but Chicago had a known weakness at running back entering the offseason. The Chicago Bears have a potential trade target Per NFL insider Jordan Schultz, the Washington Commanders are shopping running back Brian Robinson Jr. in the preseason. “Sources: The Commanders have been shopping RB Brian Robinson Jr. to teams around the NFL,” Schultz wrote. “The former 3rd-round pick out of Alabama is entering the final year of his contract.” During his first three seasons in the league, Robinson has rushed 570 times for 2,329 yards (4.1 yards per rush) and 15 touchdowns. He’s helpful as a receiver out of the backfield, recording 65 receptions for 587 yards, and five touchdowns. Robinson would be a helpful addition to a Bears offense that struggled with the run last season, finishing 25th in rushing in D’Andre Swift’s first season in Chicago. The lack of production had many hoping the Bears would land Ashton Jeanty, but they were way too far back in the draft. Behind Swift, the Bears have Roschon Johnson and seventh-round pick Kyle Monangai.
Cardinals Paving Way For Next St. Louis Debut
The St. Louis Cardinals shook up the roster ahead of action on Saturday against the New York Yankees. Unfortunately, the Cardinals had to place Victor Scott II on the Injured List due to an ankle injury. The Cardinals brought up Nathan Church in response. That wasn't the Cardinals' only move of the day, though. St. Louis sent Roddery Muñoz down to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds and called up left-handed pitcher Anthony Veneziano in response, according to MLB.com's John Denton. "Cardinals made the following moves: CF Nathan Church promoted from Memphis for his MLB debut," Denton said. "LHP Anthony Veneziano has been recalled from Memphis. RHP Roddery Muñoz has been optioned to Memphis. OF Victor Scott II has been placed on the 10-day IL (left ankle sprain)." Church has gotten most of the headlines since the moves were announced. He's St. Louis' No. 14 prospect and hasn't made his big league debut ahead of the moves. Veneziano is someone who has made his big league debut, but hasn't pitched in St. Louis yet. He made his big league debut in 2023 as a member of the Kansas City Royals. In 2024, he spent time with the Royals and the Miami Marlins. Cardinals make yet another move to tinker the roster In 2023, he appeared in two games and didn't allow a run. Last season, he appeared in 12 total games with the Royals and the Marlins and pitched to a 3.38 ERA and 14-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 13 1/3 innings pitched. Veneziano spent time with the Miami Marlins this season and had a 4.71 ERA in 24 appearances before designated for assignment and being claimed by the Cardinals. Veneziano was claimed on Aug. 4th by the Cardinals and has quickly worked his way up to the big leagues for St. Louis. It's been an eventful few weeks for the Cardinals. The 2025 MLB trade deadline obviously led to changes with Ryan Helsley, Steven Matz, and Phil Maton all traded away. That led to a shakeup in the bullpen. Since then, the Cardinals have been tinkering and this is yet another example of that fact. Overall, Veneziano has 38 total appearances under his belt in the big leagues and a 3.93 ERA to show for it. Don't be surprised if he gets into action quickly as St. Louis pieces the bullpen together.
Celtics new starting center shows glimpse of what's to come
Earlier this summer, the Boston Celtics parted with the entirety of their center rotation for the 2024-25 season. They traded away Kristaps Porzingis and allowed Luke Kornet to leave via free agency, and while Al Horford is yet to sign with a new team, he isn't expected to return to Boston. With three bigs leaving in the same summer, Neemias Queta appears to have jumped from being the fourth-string big last season into the starting center role for the 2025-26 NBA season. And as the franchise is in a retooling year, it will likely try to develop the 7-foot rim-runner. Fortunately for Celtics fans, they're going to get a solid look at how Queta deals with starter-level minutes against high-level opponents in the coming weeks. The 26-year-old big man is with the Portuguese national team, where he will likely anchor the middle of the floor throughout the FIBA EuroBasket tournament. On Friday, Queta suited up against Iceland as part of Portugal's warmup schedule. He earned 14 minutes of playing time and quickly filled the box score, ending the contest with 12 points, six rebounds, one assist and one block. Queta has shown flashes of his upside since joining the Celtics. He played in 62 games last season despite being fourth on the depth chart. He's already proven that he's capable of making an impact against NBA-level opposition. However, there's a difference between earning some spot starts or making a splash against second units and to being a full-time starter. Queta will undoubtedly find himself working through a new learning experience, especially deep into the season, when games start to come at you fast. Fortunately for Queta and Celtics fans, the EuroBasket tournament will serve as a reliable proving ground. He will face some of the best bigs in the world this summer and could quickly squash any concerns Boston's fanbase may have. And with that in mind, Celtics fans will likely hope that Queta's performance against Iceland was a sign of things to come.
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