Where there is smoke there is fire, one well-known NFL reporter believes.
That's the sentiment of Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio as it pertains to the reported frustration of New England Patriots second-year quarterback Mac Jones.
Jones, who has missed the past three games due to a high ankle sprain, has been included in reports of a declining relationship between the 2021 first-rounder and the organization. Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, a well-connected reporter covering the NFL and Patriots, reported Sunday how Jones' relationship with the organization had gone "sideways." Breer doubled down Tuesday expressing how there has been "natural friction" stemming from the departure of Josh McDaniels and carrying on into how New England wanted Jones to go about his injury recovery.
The high-level reporting has Florio buying in on the issue behind the scenes between Jones and the organization. Florio, while appearing on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show" on Wednesday morning, expressed just that while also pushing back on the storyline being surface-level speculation.
"Here's the thing, this is what I try to do: Look, there are ways to make your point without making your point. I mean, I'm trying to let you all know something is up without saying, with 100% certainty, put it in cement, 'Something is up.' But something is up. Something is up," Florio said on the radio station. "And there's got to be fire to that smoke. Whether Mac Jones is going to say it, whether Bill Belichick is going to say it, whether somebody is going to say it in a reliable way that allows a clear report to be made with two sources and all that stuff, that's a different issue. But something is up. I can tell you that. Based on my experience, and who I know and what I know, something's up."
Florio then further pushed back on the idea the leaks were coming from someone connected to rookie Bailey Zappe. Zappe, as Patriots fans are well aware, has impressed upon taking over for Jones and Brian Hoyer (concussion). The 2022 fourth-round quarterback has won each of his first two NFL starts and looked more than capable of leading a team while doing so. Bill Belichick hasn't said who the starting quarterback will be when Jones is healthy, though there's no debating the play of Zappe has allowed for the controversy to grow.
"No, that's not it. Nope, nope, nope. That's not it," Florio said. "No. This isn't Zappe's people trying to get ahead of the curve and besmirch Mac. I think this is real frustration on the part of Mac Jones."
An aspect behind the reported frustration, as shared by Breer, was differing opinions on how Jones could go about his recovery from the high ankle sprain. Should Jones have sought out surgery, there was a better chance he would be able to return to the field faster. He did not take that approach with Sunday marking four weeks from when he suffered the injury in a Week 3 game against the Baltimore Ravens.
That was not the lone storyline to come out of WEEI's radio show Wednesday as The Boston Globe's Ben Volin shared a bit of a controversial take about what he heard was an attitude problem from Jones. An alleged direct message from a Twitter user, however, might have undermined Volin's theory from "someone" who would know.
The Patriots are an eight-point favorite for their Week 7 game against the Chicago Bears on "Monday Night Football."
