Patriots’ Bill Belichick Weighs In About Relationship With Mac Jones

FOXBORO, Mass. — New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones is looking forward to a clean slate with Bill Belichick this season.

Jones, who reportedly had a tenuous relationship with Belichick at points during his second NFL season, said after the first practice of training camp Wednesday that he felt in “good” standing with his head coach after having a talk with him.

Belichick had a chance to respond to Jones’ comments Thursday but didn’t go into detail about the discussion the two had.

“Yeah, I’ll keep all my conversations between the players private,” Belichick said prior to Thursday’s training camp practice. “For respect for the players.”

Asked if what Jones said about their relationship was accurate, Belichick agreed.

“Yeah, again, I’m good with all players on the team,” Belichick said. “Absolutely.”

Jones is entering an all-important campaign after the signal-caller and the Patriots offense as a whole regressed last season under the supervision of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. The severe struggles Jones, who threw for nearly 3,000 yards with 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2022, and the offense experienced reportedly made the 24-year-old reach out to his college coaches for guidance.

The rocky relationship between the two didn’t seem solved early in the offseason when reports suggested that the Patriots talked with multiple teams about trading Jones, who they selected No. 15 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.

But like Jones, Belichick appears ready to turn the page and put some faith back in his starting quarterback this season.

“I trust in all the players we have on our team,” Belichick said. “If I didn’t, they wouldn’t be here.”