Has Mac Jones Lost Locker Room? Patriots Defender Responds To Report

Mac Jones has lost approximately 80% of the New England Patriots locker room after his international benching against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, according to a recent report.

Patriots linebacker Jahlani Tavai, however, doesn’t agree … or Tavai at least won’t be the one to publicly confirm it.

“Of course I’m a believer in Mac. I don’t know who said that, but no, he hasn’t lost us,” Tavai said Thursday when he appeared on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.”

“That’s wild,” Tavai said with a chuckle. “But no, he hasn’t lost any of us on the team. So it will be a good week for him to just get away from football. And when he gets back I hope he knows all 52 other guys are ready to get after it with him.”

The Patriots are off until next week given their Week 11 bye.

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Tavai further pushed back on the criticisms of the third-year signal-caller. Jones’ recent play has been roundly criticized, and he was pulled in crunch time against the Colts because of a back-breaking interception.

Tavai doesn’t view it the same way.

“I mean, if somebody out there in the world thinks that they can do a better job, they can try and sign up,” Tavai said. “Being a quarterback is one of the toughest positions. So my hat goes off to him for keeping his poise, you know, week in and week out. I don’t think they see the hard work that he puts into this, into his work.

“He’s working his tail off to improve himself every week and that’s just from what I’m seeing. So, I have nothing but respect for Mac,” Tavai continued. “All the outside noise, you know, I really, I truly don’t really care about it. Like I just want him to know that we got his back.”

While Tavai might feel that way, there’s reason to think he doesn’t speak for everyone.

The Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan reported this week Jones has lost the “vast majority” of the locker room and noted the support of Jones is “vanishing.” Boston Sports Journal’s Mike Giardi had a similar report, stating the support for Jones has been lacking since the quarterback’s Week 5 stinker against the New Orleans Saints.