Getty
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick
At one point in the 2022 regular season, it seemed like New England Patriots rookie cornerback Jack Jones might be the future of the defense. Now it appears his relationship with head coach Bill Belichick has soured.
Jones was suspended for the final game of the season after missing rehab sessions, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. After New England’s Week 18 loss, Breer elaborated on Jones’ suspension and added that Jones had lashed out at Belichick.
“The Jack Jones thing, my understanding of how that went,” Breer said, “He was late to rehab sessions, he missed rehab sessions. And I even think he talked back to Bill a little bit about it, to the point where Bill felt like he had to address it in a team meeting two Fridays ago.”
Jack Jones Was Performing Well for the Patriots Prior to Suspension
Jones was having an impressive rookie season prior to being sidelined. In 13 games, he tallied two interceptions along with 30 tackles per Pro Football Reference.
While things continue to look worse for Jones, his agent believes the suspension was simply due to a “miscommunication.”
“Jack is focused on recovering and getting back to help the Patriots as soon as possible. Regarding the suspension, it appears to be based on miscommunication regarding Jack’s rehab process. I’m hopeful we’ll reach an amicable resolution for both Jack and the Patriots,” agent Jamal Toosan wrote via NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
After New England’s Week 18 loss that ended its season, Kraft sent a message to season-ticket holders ahead of the offseason.
“Unfortunately, our season ended sooner than we hoped (Sunday) afternoon in Buffalo,” Kraft said. “While we always want to be playing games with playoff implications in Week 18, our expectation was to perform better throughout the season and to advance through the playoffs. We can assure you that no one in our organization is satisfied with the results from this past season.
“In the weeks ahead, we will be making critical evaluations of all elements of our football operation as we strive to improve and return to the playoffs next year.”
When speaking to the media, Belichick also confirmed that evaluations will be taken place.
“As we do every year, we’ll evaluate everything and try to make the best decisions that we can to move forward and be more competitive, to have a stronger team in the future,” Belichick said. “Robert and I will talk about that, we’ll talk about that as a staff, and certainly individual conversations with many of the players, as we always do. All the players.
“There are some that are obviously more urgent or will be more timely than others, but it will be a comprehensive course of action, as it always is. … The process will start today,” Belichick added.
The veteran head coach also confirmed that he plans on returning for what will be his 24th season coaching the Patriots. The status of the rest of the coaching staff will be a mystery for quite some time.
Sam Minton covered the New England Patriots for Heavy.com from 2022 to 2023. A Massachusetts native, he has covered New England sports since 2016, with work featured at SB Nation, Sports Illustrated, FanSided and The Blazing Musket. More about Sam Minton
More Heavy on Patriots News
Loading more stories
