Getty Bill Belichick (left) addressed the removal of Jack Jones from the Patriots’ roster.
It’s been a stunning nosedive for the Patriots’ Jack Jones after a promising, if tumultuous, rookie season. On Monday, the team finally decided it had had enough of Jones in his short NFL career with the team, and New England coach Bill Belichick sent him away and cut contact with the 2022 fourth-rounder.
A New England reporter – Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald – cited a lack of professionalism as the reason for the move. Jones was benched for the Week 9 game against Washington for missing curfew at the team hotel, and he was benched again on Sunday for playing all but 10 snaps against the Colts in Germany.
He was seen sulking on the sidelines. According to Kyed, this led the Patriots to cut ties with Jones.
Patriots CB Jack Jones had an opportunity to improve his attitude this week in Germany, but he failed to do so, a source says. As a result, he was waived,” Kyed wrote on Twitter/X.
On Monday, Belichick addressed the move after deflecting questions about Jack Jones over the past two days.
“Jack is a talented player,” Belichick said. “He showed that when he played for us at times. In the end I felt like we just had to move on. But he is a talented player.”
Jack Jones has been troubled since the Patriots selected him
Talented but troubled. Jones was drafted in the fourth round out of Arizona State in 2022 and might have gone higher had he not caused himself problems in college.
As SI.com’s Albert Breer wrote on Twitter (and he suffered some backlash at the time), “Patriots take struggling Arizona State CB Jack Jones at 121.”
I have to say, worried. One could have said that the Patriots took CB Jack Jones at No. 121.
— HE IS HIM: AUSTIN REAVES (@BarringtonSter2) April 30, 2022
He was denied academic admission at USC, then expelled after being arrested for burglary in 2018. Jones later resumed his career after a stint in junior college with the Sun Devils.
He looked like a steal last season when the Patriots had him on the field for 13 games as a rookie. Jones recorded two interceptions, including a pick-6 against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in Week 4. He had a 74.7 grade with Pro Football Focus, establishing himself as a solid cornerback for the future.
But he was suspended by the team late in the season and concerns about his lack of professionalism resurfaced.
Jones was arrested in June at Logan Airport in Boston with two loaded guns. In August, he agreed to a plea deal and avoided prison time when prosecutors agreed to drop the charges against Jones (nine in total) in exchange for Jones agreeing to a year of probation and 48 hours of community service. He never really seemed to recover from that incident this season.
“Should have been cut this summer”
In hindsight, it’s clear that the Patriots may have been too lenient on Jack Jones. He was originally benched for missing curfew at the team hotel before the Commanders game, but it’s also possible he got off too lightly given last year’s suspension and the relative lack of punishment for the firearms charges.
It’s worth noting that the legal issues and trouble with the team seemed to affect Jones’ performance. After his very good PFF grade in 2022, he dropped to 46.4 this season, making him one of the worst cornerbacks in the league.
“Should have cut him a week ago,” said former Patriots quarterback and team color analyst Scott Zolak. “He should have been circumcised this summer. Should have been cut off the second the thing crashed, we all know what crashed. Shouldn’t have been on the team at that point. I think we all agreed on that. Nobody disputed that. No one.”
Well, he’s circumcised now. As of this week, Jack Jones is no longer a patriot.
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter who covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. He has been writing for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of NBA reporting experience, including 17 years as a senior NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of seven nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley Were Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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