Devin McCourty defends Mac Jones as Patriots' QB of future

Longtime New England Patriots captain Devin McCourty passionately defended Mac Jones as the team's quarterback of the future, adding that team leaders such as Jones are encouraged by coach Bill Belichick to speak up.

«What I love about Mac is that Mac came into a leadership role as a quarterback and he speaks to what he thinks,» McCourty said Monday during an appearance on NFL Network's «Good Morning Football.»

«I think what people don't always understand, in our locker room, Bill pushes that. We're in the captains meeting every week, [and he'll say] 'If you don't like something, tell us and we'll throw it out.' Because what's the point of players going out there and saying, as soon as that call comes in, 'I know we hate this call but ...' No one wants to be out there with that.»

McCourty's answer came in reference to anonymous reports that Jones «rubbed people wrong» in New England in 2022, which included a play in a December game in which he was fined $13,367 for unnecessary roughness for sliding in front of Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Eli Apple during the return of a fumble. Jones' on-field emotions also bubbled over at times in frustration.

McCourty, who is pondering a return for a 14th season in New England, noted that Jones' development was affected by changes on the team's coaching staff and believes the addition of offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien should help in 2023.

«He's going to have stability around him,» McCourty said. «You get to work with Josh McDaniels, who I think is one of the best offensive minds in this league, your rookie year. And then you get Matty P [Matt Patricia], with a mixture of Joe Judge, with Coach Belichick — all guys who were new to calling the actual offense.… It's just so much