Sportsnaut
The New England Patriots are in the midst of an impressive season. After finishing as one of the worst teams in the league last year, the Patriots are sitting at 6-2 heading into Week 9 and are in first place in the AFC East.
While the team is preparing to take on the Atlanta Falcons in Week 9, they were still able to get some important business done on Tuesday. Per reports by NFL insiders Ian Rapoport and Doug Kyed, the Patriots have agreed to a three-year contract extension with cornerback/punt returner Marcus Jones. Financial details were not available at the time of this writing, but the deal will keep Jones around through 2028.
Jones was slated to enter free agency after this season, and he’s in the midst of his best season as a pro, so it makes sense the team wanted to get this done now.
Jones has played in all eight games so far and has collected 36 tackles, one sack, six tackles for loss, nine pass deflections, and two interceptions on defense. As the team’s punt returner, Jones has racked up 216 yards on 10 attempts and has one touchdown- an 87-yarder against the Carolina Panthers.
Pro Football Focus gives Jones a solid 66.6 grade so far this season. Only two cornerbacks have more interceptions than Jones does so far in 2025.
The versatile athlete is the last remaining player on the Patriots’ roster from the 2022 draft class. A third-round pick, Jones took the league by storm and earned First-team All-Pro honors after leading the league in punt return yards as a rookie. In total, Jones has racked up five interceptions in 39 NFL games to go along with two punt return touchdowns, one pick-six, and one receiving score.
Jones is carrying a cap hit of just over $1.6 million in 2025 on his rookie-scale contract, so it can be assumed he landed a sizable raise. There aren’t many players in the league who can contribute on a high level on defense and special teams, so the Patriots were smart to lock Jones down.
More must-reads:
