Devin McCourty remembers when it's like to be a young player cutting his teeth in the NFL.
Those days, of course, are well behind McCourty, a Patriots co-captain who's amid his 12th season with New England. But the veteran safety is able to tap into nostalgia playing alongside Mac Jones, the Patriots' rookie quarterback who's already experienced his fair share of both ups and downs dating back to the summer.
But no matter how things are going for New England or the 23-year-old personally, Jones' positive outlook remains. McCourty admires that about the Alabama product.
"His attitude and all of that hasn't changed from day one," McCourty said Friday on "The Zach Gelb Show," as transcribed by WEEI. "Good days, bad days, he still comes back the next day calm, poised, ready to get better and ready to go. And I think that's just so much fun, as an older guy. To know what it's like to be a rookie, a young guy, to struggle. I know how I had to deal with that. So, seeing him remain positive and poised has been a lot of fun."
Jones has every reason to be positive right now. Thursday's shutout victory over the Atlanta Falcons extended the Patriots' win streak to five.