I hate that Instagram likes mean anything these days, but they often do mean a lot in the world of professional sports. Especially if someone’s hatin’.

It’s fair to wonder if Patriots tackle Trent Brown is hatin’ on Mac Jones now, almost indirectly, because one of his recent likes on his Instagram account is on a post suggesting the Pats look into bringing back Tom Brady or Jimmy Garoppolo to play quarterback. A.k.a. replace Mac.

Hat tip to Babz on Twitter for catching this and posting it, because Instagram likes aren’t the easiest thing to spot. Ahh you know just ESPN throwing it out there on Instagram that Brady or Garoppolo could make a triumphant return, nothing wrong with th-

Wait what?

Oh god.

NO Trent!

OK, so this happened. Brown has hit the heart icon on a post asking if Brady or Garoppolo should come back and play next season instead of Jones. That’s a thing that happened.

It’s fair to note that Brown is pretty active on social media in general and could have just been throwing likes out there to anything Patriots-related. But the fact he’s so active could also be an indication that he takes his social media pretty seriously. And while I would agree with anyone who says social media is the scourge of the earth and “likes” don’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things because the sun will swallow the planet some day and we all need to go outside and interact with humans in real life more … this is the reality. Likes, follows, unfollows, all that stupid shit. They often carry real meaning.

Brown’s feelings are probably raw at this point, after the Patriots blew Sunday’s game against the Raiders in spectacularly dumb fashion. And Jones was most certainly poor in the game. He actually had time to throw, so it was a good time to actually evaluate how he’s playing. He did not play well. His throwing accuracy was the most glaringly bad aspect of his game. Plays were there to be made and he couldn’t make them.

On top of that, Jones continued to act like a petulant baby on the field at times. It’s often been easy to feel sympathy for that behavior, considering the mess going on around him. But in Vegas, when he was getting actual protection? That was just a bad look. So Brown may be justified to look at Jones and think, “What’s this guy going on about now?!”

It’s also possible that none of this really means anything, that Brown didn’t even read that Instagram post he liked, that he could come out against this every post like “The hell you talking about?” But Brown is also one of the few guys left on the Pats roster who knew what it was like to block for Brady. Even if Jones played up to his abilities and the offense was functional, he’d be a far cry from Brady.

The whole thing just seems indicative of the indignation permeating the Patriots offense in that locker room. And it’s honestly hard to blame Brown for hoping better days are ahead. Even if that means replacing Jones with an old flame.

Anyway! The Patriots are 7-7 and one game out of the final AFC Wild Card spot (two, if you count Miami’s head-to-head tiebreaker). They are tied for the league’s hardest remaining schedule. Their defense will now be tasked with slowing down Joe Burrow and the Bengals, while the offense will have to prove it can stay out of its own way, in Saturday’s game on Christmas Eve.

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Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @realmattdolloff. Check out all of Matt’s content here.