Mac Jones bid farewell to the New England Patriots and their fans Thursday night, posting a statement to social media thanking the team that drafted him.
Jones even included a thank you to Bill Belichick, the man who drafted Jones but eventually developed a frayed relationship with. After a strong start in New England, Jones fell out of favor over the past two seasons. With the trade that sent him to the Jacksonville Jaguars officially going through, Jones took the time to thank chairman Robert Kraft, Belichick and the rest of the Patriots organization.
Here’s the full statement from Jones:
“The last three seasons with the New England Patriots are years I will cherish for the rest of my life. I will always be grateful for my time in New England and for the opportunity to start my career in the NFL.
“To Mr. Kraft and the Kraft family, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to make my dream of playing in the NFL come true. To Coach Belichick and all the coaches and support staff who helped me each and every day, including training, equipment, strength, video staff, and everyone in between, thank you for all that you did to help prepare me over the years. I truly appreciate each and every one of you.
“To my teammates, it was an honor to play alongside you these last three years and I will always cherish the friendships that we built.
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“And finally, thank you to the fans for always showing up and supporting me and the Patriots. It has been a blessing to be a part of the Patriots organization and I will always have love for the New England community.
“With that said, I am thrilled to go home and get to work in Duuuuval. Thank you to the Jacksonville Jaguars organization for the opportunity. Let’s go!”
Jones was traded to the Jaguars for a sixth-round pick as the Patriots are expected to move on to a new era at quarterback. He now heads to his hometown of Jacksonville, where he’s expected to serve as a backup behind Trevor Lawrence.
The No. 15 overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, Jones made the Pro Bowl as a rookie. However, coaching changes and struggles all around the offensive side of the ball led to significant regression for the Patriots quarterback over the past two seasons.
MassLive’s Mark Daniels reported that Jones’ relationship with the team became strained this past year, to the point where Belichick was not on speaking terms with his quarterback.
Jones’ time in New England ended with him being unceremoniously demoted to third string in his final game. Sources told Daniels that Jones wasn’t even informed of the decision ahead of time.
