Mac Jones wasn’t technically the quarterback to succeed Tom Brady in New England, as Brady left following the 2019 season and Jones arrived in 2021.
But given the length and success of Brady’s tenure with the Patriots and the one-year gap between the two QBs, they’ll likely always be linked.
Now that Brady has officially retired — for good, as he said in February — New England will honor him during their season opener against Philadelphia on Sunday.
Jones was asked about Brady during his weekly appearance on WEEI’s “Jones and Lego” show and revealed some things regarding their relationship.
“He’s definitely a legend. I have all the respect for him, he’s a great guy,” Jones said, via Karen Guregian of MassLive.com. “He’s actually helped me a lot already, just talking to him or whatever. He’s been a great mentor and stuff. He’s a great player.
“Love watching his film. ... He pops up on game tape, obviously, from last year and everything, too. He’s always on the film doing the right thing so just trying to learn from him. He’s been awesome.”
When it comes to mentorship, Jones explained that he’s comfortable reaching out to Brady if he needs to. But he’s mainly learned from Brady through film study.
“I think whether it was [Brian] Hoyer that was here, whoever, you meet a lot of people that have known him and everything, and the stories … so that always helps,” Jones said. “Just being able to learn from that. He’s always on the film like I said, so just watching the football, the timing, his operation of everything. So he’s definitely the greatest to do it, and that’s why you want to watch him and learn.”
Jones is looking for a bounce-back year with returning Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien after his 2022 was a step back. Studying Brady’s tape of successfully running the same offense in years past can’t hurt Jones as he enters his critical third pro season.
