Josh McDaniels Praises Mac Jones For ‘Battling’ Through Practice Struggles

HENDERSON, Nev. — Josh McDaniels no longer is a member of the New England Patriots but his admiration for Mac Jones remains.

The Las Vegas Raiders head coach was asked about Jones ahead of Wednesday’s joint practice with the Patriots. McDaniels paused for a brief moment, then delivered what felt like a very sincere thought on Jones’ character and competitiveness.

“Love that kid. I really do,” McDaniels said. “And spent a lot of time with him, obviously, last year. Great human being, got a bright future.

“Really competitive guy that wants to do it right — everything, wants to do everything right. Those are always things that are difficult, you know, when (coaches) leave and you go somewhere else, and there’s gonna be people that you miss maybe more than others, but you’re gonna miss them all.”

Jones and the rest of the Patirots offense were flat-out bad in Tuesday’s practice before a strong final drive. McDaniels praised Jones for overcoming the struggles and ultimately delivering in an impressive two-minute drill.

“Saw him yesterday, battling, and that’s basically what happens at this time of the year,” McDaniels said. “I thought he made some really good plays and there’s some other situations where we’re trying to make it as hard as we can on him. And they obviously got the better of us there at the end. Finishing practice was a huge point of emphasis for us, and we obviously didn’t finish it as well as they did on either side of the ball. But I think the world of the kid, I really do.

The Patriots offense improved Wednesday, punctuating two days of joint practices with consecutive touchdown-scoring drives. It was an encouraging and needed performance, despite the running game continuing to be anemic.

New England and Las Vegas will square off Friday night in a preseason matchup.

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