Patriots Coaches Reveal Marcus Jones Will Miss Rest Of Season

The Patriots’ most versatile player won’t return until 2024.

New England receivers/returners coach Troy Brown on Tuesday confirmed second-year cornerback Marcus Jones will miss the rest of the season with a torn labrum.

Jones suffered the injury in a Week 2 loss to the Miami Dolphins. He was placed on injured reserve and has not played or practiced since.

Cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino said he’s confident Jones will “come back stronger” once he recovers.

“It’s unfortunate,” Pellegrino said. “We’d love to have him this year, but different plan. Different path for him this year. He’ll grow from it. The experience isn’t a good one, but he’s a mentally tough guy. He’ll push through it, he’ll come back stronger, and I have no doubt in my mind that he’ll be stronger because of it.”

Jones earned first-team All-Pro honors as a punt returner last season while also playing 370 snaps on defense and 18 on offense as a gadget-play receiver. The 2022 third-round draft pick was the first player in the Super Bowl era to score a receiving touchdown, a punt/kick-return touchdown and a pick-six in the same season.

Before his injury last month, Jones played 44 snaps on defense, nine on special teams and one on offense this season.

The Patriots also lost rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez to a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 4 and dealt with multi-week absences for Jack Jones and Jonathan Jones. They’re now in better shape at the position with those two Joneses back from their injuries and J.C. Jackson aboard following a trade from the Los Angeles Chargers.

Multiple players have taken punt return reps in Marcus Jones’ absence, but Demario Douglas seems to have settled into that role. The rookie slot receiver ripped off an impressive 25-yard return during Sunday’s upset win over the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium.

“He’s worked really hard at fielding the ball, which is usually the biggest issue most guys have coming from college into the league,” Brown said. “… I think he’s worked his butt off doing that, and hopefully he continues to improve with those duties with Marcus being out for the year now.”

The 2-5 Patriots will visit the 5-2 Miami Dolphins this Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.