James White still believes in Mac Jones.
The longtime Patriots running back defended the young quarterback multiple times during his turbulent second season in New England. And Jones needed supporters, as last season saw the 2021 first-round pick endure on-field struggles, a head-spinning quarterback controversy and increased criticism from the Patriots fanbase. The offseason hasn’t been much better, with Jones seeing his name attached to multiple trade rumors.
So, there’s a lot of pressure on the 24-year-old. But White believes his former teammate will rise to the challenge. Appearing on the latest episode of Tom E. Curran’s “Patriots Talk” podcast, White was asked to reveal what his advice for Jone would be.
“Move forward,” White said. “Obviously, everybody’s gonna bring up last season and what they saw. Some people are gonna be wanting (Bailey) Zappe to be the starting quarterback. But move forward. Put your blinders on. Come in the same way you did your rookie season — put in the work, earn that trust (from) your teammates once again.
“Everybody in the locker room who’s gotten the opportunity to be around him or play with him knows what type of player he can be. I think if he just goes out there and earns the trust of his teammates once again, I think he’ll be just fine.”
White then was asked whether Jones must “re-earn” the trust of his teammates after showing questionable leadership in 2022.
“I don’t think it’s ‘re-earn the trust’ — I think just go out there and show them in a sense,” White said. “I think they all trust him, but you’ve got to go out there and show it in practice and show it week in and week out during the game. Because otherwise, obviously, they got a little taste of somebody else who’s behind him … with this generation now, everybody’s looking for what’s the next best thing.
White added: “I think Mac is a guy that’s gonna come in confident this upcoming season, I think he’s the guy that will lead them to the most victories they can possibly get.”
New England now is a month into its offseason program and is scheduled to begin voluntary offseason training activities (OTAs) next Monday. We’ll get our first look at Jones and the re-tooled Patriots offense during a practice the following Thursday.
