Bill Belichick Explains Why Patriots Cut Jack Jones, Claimed Running Back

Bill Belichick knows Jack Jones has NFL talent. But he no longer believed keeping the cornerback on the roster was in the Patriots’ best interest.

New England waived Jones on Monday less than two years after selecting him in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Asked why during his Tuesday morning news conference, Belichick replied: “I just felt like it was time to move on.”

The head coach reiterated that response when asked whether Jones’ release was performance-based or discipline-related. Jones’ brief Patriots tenure featured a team-imposed suspension, an offseason arrest on weapons charges, two injured reserve stints and a pair of recent benchings.

The 25-year-old also struggled on the field this season, with more penalties (three) than pass breakups (one) across his four appearances.

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Jones was benched for the first three series of the Patriots’ Week 9 loss to Washington after reportedly missing curfew at the team hotel, and multiple reports Monday indicated the team was disappointed with his attitude during New England’s trip to Germany this past weekend. Jones played just 10 snaps in Sunday’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts and spent the entire first quarter seated on the bench with a hood on.

Belichick was asked whether there was any specific incident during the team’s international trip that led to Jones being cut.

“No, not really,” he replied.

Six of the 10 players New England selected in last year’s draft have been either traded or released by the team. Jones is the highest pick from that draft class to be let go.

“Jack’s a talented player,” Belichick said. “He showed that when he played for us at times. In the end, I just felt like we needed to move on. But he’s a talented player.”

Belichick said the Patriots will not attempt to re-sign Jones to their practice squad if he clears waivers. They currently have two P-squad cornerbacks (Azizi Hearn and Breon Borders) to go along with the five on their 53-man roster (Jonathan Jones, J.C. Jackson, Myles Bryant, Shaun Wade and Alex Austin).

Jackson did not travel with the Patriots to Germany for disciplinary reasons, but Belichick last week said he expects him to rejoin the team ahead of its post-bye matchup with the New York Giants.

New England quickly filled Jack Jones’ roster spot Monday by claiming running back JaMycal Hasty off waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars. The 27-year-old has 410 rushing yards and 316 receiving yards across 39 career appearances, with one of his best coming against the Patriots in 2020.

“We just felt like he was a good person to claim, and we’ll see how it goes with him,” Belichick said. “He’s had some production in his career.”