There were rumors recently that Mac Jones' relationship with the New England Patriots organization had gone sideways.
Now, it's time to wonder how Jones feels about Patriots fans.
The crowd at Gillette Stadium cheered loudly Monday night when Bailey Zappe replaced Jones at quarterback in the second quarter of the Patriots' eventual 33-14 loss to the Chicago Bears, and Ted Johnson, a former NFL linebacker who played 10 seasons with New England (1995-2004), believes that reaction could have a lasting impact.
"Mac Jones will never forget the fans turning on him last night," Johnson tweeted Tuesday morning. "He strikes me as a guy who will always hold that against them."
Jones, who missed the Patriots' previous three games after suffering an ankle injury on the final offensive snap of New England's Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, struggled against the Bears before being replaced by Zappe. When you consider Zappe won both of his starts (against the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns) -- and took Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers to overtime upon replacing an injured Brian Hoyer in Week 4 -- it's easy to understand why some Pats supporters wanted to see the rookie behind center for at least one more game.
That said, Jones, the 15th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, was widely considered the Patriots' franchise quarterback coming into this season. He had a solid first year in Foxboro and looked to be a worthy heir apparent to Tom Brady, who left New England to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before the 2020 NFL season.
As such, it's jarring to see such a rapid fall from grace, despite Jones' ups and downs over the first three weeks of the 2022 campaign. Who could blame the sophomore QB for being a bit ticked off, even if he doesn't necessarily express such publicly?
