Patriots Rumors: What Mac Jones Told Jets Staffer After Demotion

Mac Jones apparently grew so frustrated with the Patriots at the end of the season that he felt inclined to vent to the enemy.

Jones lost his starting job heading into Week 13 and served as Bailey Zappe's backup for New England's next four games after its ugly shutout home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. The Alabama product ultimately ended the campaign on the sourest of notes, as he was healthy scratched from the Patriots' season finale against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium.

According to MassLive's Mark Daniels, Jones didn't receive an advanced warning about the additional demotion and found out about his Week 18 inactive listing roughly 90 minutes before kickoff. At that point, Jones was envious of another 2021 first-rounder who endured a brutal junior season.

"On the other sideline Zach Wilson, who was drafted the same year as Jones, also lost his starting job," Daniels wrote. "But the Jets had been upfront with their struggling quarterback. The Athletic reported that the Jets told Wilson they were going to trade him in the offseason. According to a source who was on the field pregame, the Patriots quarterback was so bothered by his team's lack of communication, he told a member of the Jets' staff that he appreciated how their organization handled Wilson's situation.

"Jones privately lamented to locker room confidants that no one talks to him."

It's unclear if Jones' frustration was directed at the Patriots organization as a whole or mostly Bill Belichick. According to Daniels, citing a source, Jones and New England's former coach had a "broken relationship" and Belichick stopped speaking to the 25-year-old after Week 12.

Belichick reportedly wouldn't have allowed Jones to return to the Patriots in 2024 if he remained head coach, but Jerod Mayo appears to be more open-minded about the embattled signal-caller than his predecessor. It still feels likelier than not that Jones will be with a new team next season, but at a minimum, Mayo seemingly will be more upfront with the QB than Belichick was.