What Mac Jones Said About Sauce Gardner Claim, ‘Dirty’ Reputation

Mac Jones denied intent Monday when asked whether he struck Sauce Gardner below the belt during the Patriots' win at MetLife Stadium.

Gardner said after New England's 15-10 victory over the New York Jets that Jones hit him in his "private parts" during a post-play scuffle, prompting the star cornerback to shove the quarterback to the ground.

Jones faced a series of questions about the controversy from radio host Adam Jones during his weekly appearance on WEEI's "Jones & Mego with Arcand." He said "nothing was intentional" on the play, then sidestepped multiple follow-ups.

Question: In your words, what happened on that play with Sauce?

Mac Jones: "Sauce is one of the best corners in the NFL, so I have a lot of respect for him. On that play, nothing was intentional. I just got up and went back to the huddle, and that's it.

Question: Was there maybe an inadvertent thing that hit him? What happened? Because he seemed to think A) it was intentional and B) there was some contact. So, what actually happened?

Jones: "Um, it's football, so just trying to get up and go back to the huddle. Like I just said, nothing there."

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Question: I'm confused. Maybe I haven't heard the answer or I'm missing it. There was contact with Sauce or there wasn't? Was it inadvertent? Was there contact with him, or does he not know what he's talking about? I'm just confused.

Jones: "I kind of already answered that one, so I'm good on that. We already talked about it."

Question: I'm not sure I've heard it. Have you heard from the league about this yet? There was a report that you were going to hear from the league about it?

Jones: "Uh, like I said, this week for me is about improving, so I'm just focused on really watching the tape of the game we just played and trying to clean up some of those throws, and then for me, just look at Dallas and see what they do really well. They have a great front. Micah Parsons is the top player in the league. I've really been impressed with what they've done on film, and they definitely work well as a unit together. Obviously, (cornerback Trevon) Diggs got hurt, which is unfortunate. My old teammate. But they do a good job. Guys are in there. They rotate a lot of guys, and I'm very impressed with Dallas, so that's what I'm looking for."

Question: So the league has not reached out to you?

Jones: "I already talked about it, man. I'm going to be honest here. Yeah."

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Jones later was asked about his reputation as a "dirty player" around the NFL. This is the latest in a long line of questionable on-field actions by the third-year pro, who was fined three times by the league last season.

"I can't control that stuff," the QB replied. "I try to be really competitive and go out there and be a good teammate and compete and come to work every day and put a lot of hours into it. I definitely care about football a lot. This game means a lot to me, and it means a lot to a lot of other guys that I play with. So I hope they can see that."

As Jones noted, the 1-2 Patriots are preparing to take on the 2-1 Cowboys this Sunday at AT&T Stadium.