The New England Patriots’ legendary tight end Rob Gronkowski is closely watching his former team and the way quarterback Mac Jones has been struggling in 2023. And he believes that Jones might lose his job sooner rather than later if he doesn’t improve.
Speaking on the Up & Adams show earlier this week, Gronkowski said that Jones has been making some mistakes in recent games that are probably making Pats’ head coach Bill Belichick “frustrated.” According to him, Jones can’t allow himself more “strike,” or he’ll end up being “out.”
“If he gets benched again and he makes another mistake that they’ve been going over throughout the week … he’s going to get benched a third time, and that will be strike three and he will officially be out as the quarterback of the New England Patriots,” said Gronkowski.
Jones was benched in 2022 in favor of then-rookie Bailey Zappe in the game against the Chicago Bears, and the same thing happened in a 38-3 blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys this season. The Alabama product has been completing 63.7% of his passes this season while throwing for 898 yards, five touchdowns, and four interceptions.
What works in Jones’ favor is that the Pats don’t have a better option. Zappe wasn’t impressive against the Cowboys, while Grier played his most recent regular-season game in 2019.
