Even though he stood out at Alabama, Mac Jones still drew plenty of mixed reviews before the NFL Draft. Some even said that the New England Patriots shouldn't have taken him in the first round because he wasn't a first-round caliber quarterback.
And, while it's still pretty early to tell just how good or bad he'll be at the next level, Jones has done an impressive job thus far. He looks far ahead of the curve in his adapting process and hasn't been overwhelmed by the pressure.
That, combined with the fact that Cam Newton will miss the team's final preseason game due to Covid-19 testing, has some people wondering whether Jones will end up taking over the starting quarterback job.
Patriots News: Mac Jones Says He's Ready To Play Any Role
When asked about it, Mac looked confident and gave a blunt and straight-forward response: He'll play whichever role Bill Belichick needs him to play, even if that means waiting in line to get his turn:
“That’s more of a future thing. Today, I am trying to just learn the plays I messed up on in practice. That’s really my focus,” Jones said, as quoted by ProFootballTalk. “Fix those and move onto the next day. I think I’m starting to get a good grasp of it. I am just here to be a good teammate and help the quarterback room. When I am in there I need to execute the plays and I can continue to get better at that and I will, so it’s just a learning experience. I am ready to play any role that I need to play.”
Bill Belichick Still Wants To Roll With Cam Newton
For now, it doesn't seem like Belichick is high on handing the keys of the offense to a rookie and he'll continue to roll with Newton. Then again, we know how quickly things can change around the league:
“The fact that Cam started last year, and he’s here, somebody would have to play better than him. Training camp is all about competition," Belichick said. "First of all, offensively, we have a much better-balanced team. We’ve added some players that bring an explosive element to our offense … Cam is way more comfortable."
Belichick benched Cam down the stretch last season multiple times, so it wouldn't be shocking to see him do the same again this year. The only difference is that Mac seems to be the future of this franchise, unlike Jarrett Stidham.
