Good news for New England Patriots: He is back
Quick thoughts and remarks on the New England Patriots and the NFL:
1. Jones returns: As a rookie in 2022, Marcus Jones was awarded The Associated Press first-team All-Pro punt returner after demonstrating that he was one of the NFL’s most exciting players with the ball in his hands.
He returned 29 punts for 362 yards (12.5 average), including an 84-yard touchdown, and 27 kickoffs for 645 yards (long 46 yards).
Jones now aims to regain his form after suffering a season-ending torn labrum in the second week of the 2023 season. He returns to a dramatically different NFL field for returners. While punt returns remain the same, new kickoff rules passed this offseason have significantly impacted the play, prompting interest throughout the league in how they may affect games.
Jones’ first opinion of the changes during spring practice?
“Honestly, it isn’t that crazy for me because I’m also a punt returner. “It’s basically like another punt return for me,” he told ESPN. “It’s simply people on the same level, all on the same yard line, which is a little strange. Aside from that, I can see how it would be slightly different for folks who don’t do punt returns.
According to the new rules, the kicker will continue to kick off from the 35-yard line, while the remaining ten members of the kicking team will line up at the receiving team’s 40-yard line. The return team will have at least nine members between their 35- and 30-yard lines in a “setup zone.” Only the kicker and returner(s) can move until the ball is caught or hits the ground.
“It’s going to be quick, the holes are going to close faster, I feel like it’s going to be ‘bam bam!'” said the 5-foot-8, 188-pound Jones, whose mix of speed, agility, and vision has earned him a spot among the league’s finest returners.
Touchbacks will be taken from the 30-yard line, and if the ball is booted out of bounds, it will be placed at the 40. Another key quirk is that if the ball lands inside the 20 and rolls into the end zone for a touchback, it will be noted at the 20 rather than the 30 — a move designed to encourage returns. Returners must pick up the ball.
In 2023, only 21% of kickoffs in the league were returned. Rich McKay, head of the NFL competition committee, thinks that between 50% and 60% of kickoffs would be returned this season, adding around 1,000 plays across the league.
For the Patriots, who are coming off a 4-13 season and rebuilding an offense that has fallen to the basement of the NFL, anything that will help ease the offensive transition while still supporting a top-ranked defense will be appreciated. This makes Jones’ return from injury a significant event as the club prepares to begin training camp under first-year head coach Jerod Mayo on Wednesday.
Mayo previously acknowledged the uncertainty around how the new kickoff regulations will effect the game, stating, “I don’t think anyone actually knows how this thing is going to play out.” He also stated that the Patriots have researched and watched practice tapes of kickoffs as a whole coaching staff, not just special teams coaches Jeremy Springer and Tom Quinn, because they want a range of perspectives.
Regarding Jones’ return from injury, the 25-year-old product of Enterprise, Alabama, stated that being around his teammates for parts of last season while recovering provided him with a valuable support system. He also commended Brian Dolan, one of the Patriots’ athletic trainers and physical therapists.
“He’s an important element of my support staff, and it goes beyond his athletic abilities. We had to be mentally prepared to perform physically, and he was always checking in,” Jones added.
Jones’ enthusiasm for singing and music, and sharing it with others, is another reason he believes he has built the groundwork for a successful 2024 football season. He formally founded a nonprofit organization with Berklee College of Music alums Keithen Foster and Kirjuan Freeman, most recently organizing a three-day event in Boston that highlighted the group’s aim of providing music career education and mentorship to students.
Jones, whose single “Make It Right” peaked at number 10 in the UK last year, emphasized the different occupations in the music industry, particularly those behind the scenes that students may not have known existed.
Jones expects to return to training camp this week with an attitude that reminds fans of what he accomplished in 2022.
“I’m locked in,” he explained. “I adore the fans here, as well as the pressure. It’s titletown up here. When you don’t do the right thing, they hold you accountable, which I enjoy hearing.”
2. Dreaming of Aiyuk: Brandon Aiyuk would be a home-run addition for the Patriots, who need a game-changing receiver to complement Drake Maye and have the cap space to do so. After Aiyuk requested a trade from the San Francisco 49ers last week, ESPN NFL Live experts Louis Riddick, Dan Orlovsky, and Field Yates reached the same conclusion.
However, New England faces two key hurdles: The 49ers allegedly do not intend to move Aiyuk at this time, and the Patriots are unlikely to part with their 2025 first-round pick to acquire him, given that it may be one of the top picks in the draft as they transition to a new administration.
According to ESPN analysts, until both of those things alter, or perhaps just one, it appears that Aiyuk will remain as the 49ers stand firm.
3. Training camp schedule: The majority of Patriots veterans will report on Tuesday, with the first practice scheduled for Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET (free to the public). However, the first full-pads session, which coaches and players frequently refer to as “real” football, will not take place until next week as part of the customary ramp-up process for new players.
Last year, for example, the Patriots’ first full-pad workout was on the fifth practice of camp. Veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett is among those scheduled to take reporters’ questions on Day 1, indicating that coaches have named him the starter.
4. Cash spending: The Patriots’ cash spending in 2024 has totaled $259 million, according to Roster Management System, ranking them ninth in the NFL. That has been reflected in a flurry of free agent re-signings and signings as the shift to a new regime led by executive vice president of personnel Eliot Wolf has been more aggressive in its spending. Perhaps most surprising is that the Dallas Cowboys currently rank last in the NFL in cash spending, at $190 million, according to Roster Management System.
5. Fashion report: The Patriots have had internal discussions about possibly wearing silver pants (instead of the standard blue) for a game(s), which would give its game-day uniform a different look. But there is no confirmation at this time when/if it will happen. Also, as expected, the team plans to wear throwback jerseys during the 2024 season, with an announcement on a specific game(s) to come in the future.
6. ‘Ballers’ at CB: Jonathan Jones enters his tenth NFL season, making him the Patriots’ oldest cornerback. He has been teaching a bunch of corners behind him, including 2023 first-round pick Christian Gonzalez, Marcus Jones, Shaun Wade, Alex Austin, Marco Wilson, Isaiah Bolden, and Marcellas Dial Jr. Gonzalez intends to start, but determining who emerges from the rest of the bunch might be one of the most intense competitions in training camp.
“We’ve got a good group of young ballers,” Jones explained. “They know what they’re doing, are eager to learn, and are just want to compete. Hopefully, we can put together a good bunch.”
7. Milton a top teammate: At this year’s Senior Bowl, Patriots rookie quarterback Joe Milton III was named the first ever “Good Guy Award” winner. Support staff members each listed three players for consideration and Milton was in the top three for the majority of them, according to Jim Nagy, the game’s executive director. “He has a great way about him,” Nagy said. “He’s going to be a good guy in the room for a young guy like Drake [Maye]. You’re banking on that, and the arm talent, clicking.”
8. They said it: “We have a whole new group working together. I’m confident we’re building something special. I just hope it doesn’t take too long to show the effects on the field, but we have to be patient.” — owner Robert Kraft, to WBZ-TV, on Monday from the Ron Burton Training Village
9. Did you know, Part I? The Patriots have 91 players on its roster, representing 21 states, one US territory, and three different nations. Jotham Russell of Australia is granted an international exemption, allowing them to add one more player. Sidy Sow, the starting guard, is from Quebec, Canada.
10. Did You Know, Part II: Of the 21 states represented on the Patriots’ 91-man roster, the most players come from Florida (15), California (13), Texas (11) and Georgia (10). Then Michigan, Alabama, and North Carolina are knotted at five each.
