by Adam London 3 hours ago
The 2022 NFL season has been a grueling campaign for the Patriots’ offense, to say the least.
After an encouraging Year 1 in New England, Mac Jones took a significant step back as an NFL sophomore. Led by first-time offense play caller Matt Patricia, Jones and his supporting cast fought weekly to move the ball down. Boiling frustration became a common occurrence at Foxboro as the Patriots offense never clicked.
The look of the entire outfit was irritating to ESPN NFL analyst Louis Riddick, who criticized Jones and the company on Thursday’s “Get Up.”
“What you saw with Mac Jones last year both on the field and on the sidelines – where he showed how frustrated he was with the operation he was having in relation to the play-callers and the people who were around , had to work his ear — is totally unacceptable,” said Riddick, as transcribed by Boston.com. “By (Robert) Kraft’s standards, that’s unacceptable. By Bill Belichick’s standards, that’s unacceptable. By Patriot Nation standards, this is unacceptable.
“Bill O’Brien now, he has to settle things for Mac Jones. You need to make Mac Jones a true #1 wide receiver to really move forward and take the lead off defense and really let Mac expand his skills and see where he can take them.
Unfortunately for Jones, there’s a real chance his arsenal will be even worse in 2023 than it was last season. Jakobi Meyers could be priced out of New England, a player like Hunter Henry could be a pay cap victim, and a swap for DeAndre Hopkins is reportedly a long way off.
However, that all assumes it will be Jones at Foxboro this fall. The Patriots’ reported feelings about Bailey Zappe suggest the 2022 runner-up can realistically contend for the starting camp job.