So, how's Mac Jones doing?
The Patriots quarterback now is through rookie camp and voluntary team workouts in New England. His usage in practice reportedly has been all over the place, which really means absolutely nothing with Bill Belichick as the head coach. Plus, Jones remains in the obsess-over-the-playbook-and-learn-as-much-as-possible phase.
Nevertheless, the first-round pick reportedly has impressed his coaches.
Check out this excerpt from the Sunday notes column published by Boston Sports Journal's Greg Bedard ahead of Monday's minicamp opener:
Certainly with all three practices open to the media, we'll have a more complete picture at how the Patriots are handling the QB position. It would not surprise me if the Patriots had a different QB among Newton, Jarrett Stidham and Mac Jones taking the top reps each day. And no, I don't think the reps say anything at this point. We will not know anything about the QB position until very late in training camp, and even then it might switch because there is so much time before the start of the season after the media's access to practice gets cut off.
Jones is right where he needs to be. If anyone was reading too much into his comments last week … good luck. Jones knew exactly what he was saying to the media; he's very smart. There was no way he was going to tell the media that the playbook was easy and he was ahead of schedule. Behind the scenes, the Patriots are very, very comfortable where Jones is. He's way ahead of every other rookie QB that has been here.
Cam Newton returned to the practice field Monday after dealing with a hand injury. How Newton's return will impact Jones's practice reps remains to be seen.
Regardless, all Jones at this point can do is make the most of the opportunities given to him, and he seemingly is doing just that.
