New England Patriots - NESN.com
There was speculation that Mac Jones was a favorite to land with the San Francisco 49ers in the 2021 NFL Draft, but instead, head coach Kyle Shanahan opted to trade up and take Trey Lance with the third overall pick.
That allowed Mac Jones to fall to the New England Patriots, who held the 15th overall pick.
While Jones had a strong rookie season, leading the Patriots to the playoffs and earning Pro Bowl honors, his career took a serious decline in the two years that followed. New England ultimately traded the former Alabama quarterback to the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he served as the backup to Trevor Lawrence, but he became a free agent after the 2024 season.
And that’s when Shanahan finally got his guy, signing Jones to a two-year deal.
However, considering the 49ers did pass over Jones originally back in 2021, the new San Francisco quarterback was asked if there are any hard feelings between him and Shanahan.
Jones just couldn’t help himself, giving a humorous answer.
“Yeah, we got in a huge fight,” Jones joked when speaking with reporters on Wednesday. “Nah, I’m just kidding.”
“We are cool,” he continued. “Kyle and I texted a little bit. Once again, I always love watching their tape. When you look at stats around the league, they’re always in the top-five, you see the little San Francisco logo. I always love watching what Kyle did throughout the years and to finally get in and learn it, it’s been a little bit challenging, but also a great challenge because it’s some things I’ve done and some things I haven’t done at all. And that’s interesting, being my fifth year in the league.
“It’s all gonna come together here, and I’m really excited to learn from Brock,” Jones concluded.
