Patriots' Mac Jones clarifies Tom Brady serving as 'mentor'

Maybe New England Patriots starting quarterback Mac Jones and retired living legend Tom Brady aren't having weekly chats, after all.

"I’d say it’s more like the learning experiences just from like film and things like that," Jones said about Brady while speaking with reporters on Thursday, per Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald. "Obviously getting a chance to talk with him a little bit. He’s definitely a good player. He’s done everything right here. Won a lot of games, won a lot of championships. Really looking forward to having him here. I think it will be great juice in that stadium and for us, just play our game and focus on what we can control. Definitely really appreciative of him, his team and everybody."

Jones joined the Patriots as a first-round draft pick in the spring of 2021 more than a full year after Brady left the organization to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a free agent in March 2020. Thus, eyebrows were raised when Jones said during a radio interview earlier in the week that Brady had "been a great mentor" for the young signal-caller. 

The Patriots will honor Brady, who earned six of his seven career Super Bowl rings with the franchise, before and during Sunday's regular-season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.

As shared by the JoeBucsFan website, new Tampa Bay starting quarterback Baker Mayfield made it known Wednesday he hadn't heard from Brady ahead of Week 1. Kyed noted how Jones danced around a follow-up question regarding how much he's interacted with Brady and instead discussed the future Hall of Famer's return to Gillette Stadium for the first time since the 46-year-old retired "for good" in February. 

"Definitely looking forward to it, but the main focus is definitely on the game and trying to play my game, not get distracted by anything and hopefully we come out with the win and everyone is happy," Jones added.

As of Thursday afternoon, OddsChecker listed the Patriots as underdogs (+176, +4) ahead of Sunday's showdown with the defending NFC champions. Perhaps Jones guiding New England to an upset win would earn him a congratulatory text from Brady before the weekend comes to a close.