Although head coach Bill Belichick has not officially named a starting quarterback for the Patriots, Mac Jones is not interested in the social media drama attempting to pit him against Bailey Zappe.
The third-year quarterback is choosing to focus on being a leader on the field for New England.
“I think every year you have to have the mindset that you’re competing, not only against yourself, you’re competing against the teams you’re about to play, which is really important for me,” Jones told reports during Patriots’ media availability after Thursday’s training camp. “Understanding that it’s the NFL, and every week you’re going to go against a great quarterback. So, that’s my biggest concern and just trying to lead the team every day and bring everybody along.”
Jones said he is trying to learn from all the coaches in New England, especially offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, assistant quarterback coach Evan Rothstein and Belichick on the field during training camp as well as in the locker room.
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“At the end of the day, it’s all about improving each day,” Jones said. “When you go out there on Sunday, you want your guys to be confident in you, and that’s what I’m trying to instill in them right now.”
In hopes of putting personal and team struggles from last season behind him, the 24-year-old has learned to embrace enjoying the game of football while facing the opposing defenses and quarterbacks.
“That’s one of the things this offseason that I put a lot of thought into, is just enjoying the game and especially practice, right? It’s practice,” Jones said. “It’s good to have fun, but at the end of the day, we’re out here working. Putting in the work is the most important part, but we’ve got to have that juice every day. I feel like it comes from the leader and the leaders of the team, so you just have to go out there and have fun.”
