Jack Jones should worry more about football than what people are saying about him on Twitter.
Granted, social media commentary on NFL football players is seldom fair, accurate, or kind. But Jones would be best off just ignoring the noise, rather than doing what he did on Sunday after the New England Patriots’ crushing loss to the Washington Commanders at Gillette Stadium.
Jones ended up playing 30 defensive snaps (38 percent) on Sunday, but spent the entire first quarter on the sideline before entering the game for a defensive series early in the second. J.C. Jackson was also on the bench to start the game, but ended up playing 53 snaps (68 percent). Both were sidelined in favor of Shaun Wade, who didn’t play again once Jones and Jackson entered the game. In other words, an obvious benching.
According to Chris Price of the Boston Globe, Jackson told reporters in the locker room that he “wasn’t talking” after the game. Maybe that was best for himself, so he wouldn’t say the wrong thing. Under league rules, Jackson and every other player are required to be available after every game, so maybe there’s something extra to sort out there. But if that’s his prerogative, Jackson can dip without talking and deal with whatever repercussions come of that.
Nov 5, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots cornerback Jack Jones (13) pushes Washington Commanders running back Antonio Gibson (24) out of bounds during the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports
The same goes for Jack Jones, who straight-up left without even appearing in the locker room after the game. And Jones took things further when he made the unfortunate mistake of hopping on Twitter.
Things started popping off for Jones when it came to a certain tweeter’s attention that he liked a post stating: “Yo @presidentjacc you really shoulda just pleaded guilty at this point”.
That’s really just a bit of gallows humor, referencing Jones’ gun charges stemming from an arrest at Logan Airport in June. The charges were eventually dropped. But the joke here is, clearly, that Jones would rather be in prison than playing for the Patriots right now.
Nov 5, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell (14) gets tackled by New England Patriots cornerback Jack Jones (13) during the first half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Obviously a humorous exaggeration. But it’s still a reflection of Jones’ apparent unhappiness with what’s happened in recent weeks between him and the team. And Jones seemed to be pissed about the general commentary, and also perhaps a report by Jeff Howe that he and Jackson were benched to start the game “due to recent performance issues.”
“Y’all say anything I ain’t gone lie,” Jones tweeted. He later added: “Have y’all notice I don’t respond to y’all ? Why would I start today?………. I talk to my friends and family and a couple familiar faces.. y’all stay in y’all lane ima stay in mine.”
He then went for the trifecta, quote-tweeting himself with this: “@ all them people tagging me in some BS”, certainly in reference to the reports and takes coming out of the game itself and his activity on Twitter afterward.
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – NOVEMBER 05: Byron Pringle #3 of the Washington Commanders runs the ball while defended by Jack Jones #13 of the New England Patriots during the first half at Gillette Stadium on November 05, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
Jones and Jackson did not play well in the Patriots’previous game against the Dolphins, and so Bill Belichick decided to sit them to start the game against the Commanders. When asked about whether they were specifically benched, Belichick gave a simple “No”, then when pressed on why they replaced Wade later in the game, Belichick said “Everybody played. They all played.”
That was just classic Belichick, obfuscating the truth as a way of avoiding throwing his players under the bus. He was later asked to clarify that Jones’ absence wasn’t disciplinary in nature, and said: “We played all the corners. I think we played all the safeties. I think we played everybody on defense.”
Anyone who’s paid attention to Belichick over his 24 seasons as Patriots head coach knew what he was doing with Jones and Jackson, though. That’s what he does. He benches you to start the game if you’re not performing to the level he expects on and off the field. It’s rare that he keeps a guy out of a game entirely, which is partially why the infamous benching of Malcolm Butler throughout Super Bowl LII was so shocking and strange.
