Did Cam Newton Allude To Patriots Not Properly Helping Mac Jones?

What was once a promising career for Mac Jones with the New England Patriots has fallen off to a now-foggy future for the 2021 first-round pick.

As a rookie, Jones played with confidence and poise, throwing for over 3,800 yards en route to a playoff berth with the Patriots as well as making the Pro Bowl as an alternate. His future looked bright after a standout first season in the NFL.

Over the next two seasons, Jones lost all the talent and intangibles that made him special in his first season in New England. Personal play decline, coaching changes and the looming presence of Bailey Zappe ultimately led to Jones being stripped from the starting job entering December in his third professional season.

Is Jones' decline on him alone? Or did the Patriots fail to keep his progression on track with proper resources, leading to a disastrous downfall?

Another former Patriots quarterback believes organizational blame is valid. Cam Newton believes that young quarterbacks need the proper support to ultimately feel their worth and potential in the NFL.

"When guys really start feeling themselves and say, 'I belong here,' that's where they get better," Newton said on the "4th and 1" show. "For every quarterback that we've felt or seen come into their own right before our eyes, there's other quarterbacks that we've seen shrink because of bad development, bad coaching, bad management. They never feel like they belong."

While Newton does not name his former Patriots teammate among fits for this scenario, Jones certainly once had that described confidence. With a chance to capitalize by surrounding him with improved talent and coaching stability, the Patriots have now watched the player who was supposed to be their next franchise quarterback crumble to an unknown future.

"When I see this, (it's) a perfect situation where I'm saying (to) start holding these front office people accountable to developing these players the right way," Newton added.

As for the Patriots, New England heads to Buffalo in Week 17 in an attempt to sweep the season series from the Bills after Jones helped earn a 29-25 victory in October.