Mac Jones may have already demonstrated impressive poise and work ethic for a young NFL player, but the New England Patriots quarterback still needs oversight and advice from his veteran teammates.
Center David Andrews has consistently praised Jones, who won the Patriots’ starting quarterback job over the course of training camp last offseason in a position battle with Cam Newton. In Jones’ second offseason, Andrews has found himself sharing wisdom with Jones.
“The kid’s a hard worker,” Andrews said during an appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Zolak and Bertrand” on July 1. “He works his butt off, day in and day out. Sometimes I try to get him to take a deep breath, but that’s what you want out of your quarterback. He works really hard. He’s a tough kid. It’s been fun, for the past year, for me to get to know him and got a lot of respect for how he does things and how he carries himself.”
David Andrews joins @ZoandBertrand to discuss Mac Jones & the Patriots' coaching situation pic.twitter.com/DAAjYVUXiu
— NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Coverage (@NBCSPatriots) July 1, 2022
Andrews’ comments are notable, in part because of how quiet July can be within the NFL. Players are preparing for training camp, but the league’s news cycle is extremely quiet. It’s an easy time for players enjoy the final weeks away from football. It doesn’t sound or look like Jones is doing that. He has been on Instagram to show he is conducting workouts with receivers Nelson Agholor and Tre Nixon, among others.
The quarterback is putting in work — and encouraging others to do the same.
“We’re all working to be the best we can be,” Andrew said. “Whether that’s Mac, me, we’re all professional athletes. Whoever it is on the football team, we know we have a job to do, and we’re going to do that to the best of our abilities to be the best we can be. We’re all here for the same common goal. It’ll all start whenever we report. That’ll be day one. We’ll keep working on it, keep improving it, try to keep getting better throughout season and not have that kind of lull like we did last season.”
