Mac Jones' frequent displays of on-field emotion came to define the 2022 Patriots season.
Clearly frustrated with the direction of New England's rudderless offense, Jones often could be seen screaming and cursing on the field or sideline, with these outbursts becoming more prevalent as the year wore on.
These reactions sparked controversy, with Patriots greats like Julian Edelman and Vince Wilfork saying the second-year quarterback hadn't earned the right to act the way he was.
How did they play in the locker room? According to one prominent Patriots defender, Jones' teammates respected his passion, even if he went a bit overboard at times.
Pro Bowl edge rusher Matthew Judon defended the young QB on Thursday during an interview with NFL Network.
"I think everybody sees that and they be like, 'Oh, he's showing frustration or he's showing youth' or whatever," Judon said. "No, he's just being emotional. He wants to win. He loves to win. He's been winning his whole life, and he's showing the passion that he has for the game. Some people take that as a negative thing and criticize him about it. We take it as a positive. We say, 'This young man wants to win this bad that he's showing his frustrations.'
"Now, we've got to tame it sometimes, and we've got to understand how to speak and understand when we can do that and stuff like that, but he's young. It's his second year."
The Patriots will hope a key coaching change can settle Jones in Year 3. They recently hired veteran offensive coach Bill O'Brien to be their new coordinator and quarterbacks coach, replacing the primary targets of Jones' ire, Matt Patricia and Joe Judge.
Jones and O'Brien briefly overlapped at Alabama during the 2021 offseason, and both are excited to work together, according to multiple reports. O'Brien will be tasked with reviving a Patriots offense that ranked near the bottom of the NFL in most metrics this season and kick-starting Jones' development after he regressed under Patricia and Judge's tutelage.
"First year, he had a lot of success," Judon said of Jones, who was a Pro Bowl alternate as a rookie. "This year, he didn't have as much success, and you just saw it. It's not that he's a bad guy or he's a bad leader. He actually is a great guy and a great leader and a great teammate. But he was just frustrated sometimes, and that's OK as a football player because we know you love the game."
