Retired NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski wants to do away with the notion that New England Patriots Quarterback Mac Jones will end up playing elsewhere when the 2023 season begins.
Earlier this week, reports surfaced suggesting Bill Belichick is buying Jones to multiple teams amid a potential fracture in the coach-quarterback relationship.
According to Pro Football Talk, Belichick contacted several teams, including the Raiders, Texans, Buccaneers and Commanders.
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New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones reacts after a play during the second half of a game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on December 18, 2022 in Las Vegas. (Chris Unger/Getty Images)
“I think it was fake news,” Gronkowski said Wednesday during an appearance on FanDuel TV’s “Up & Adams.” “There was too much turnover this year.
“[Belichick] I already have a new offensive coordinator [and quarterbacks coach Bill O’Brien] that he put in his place. Basically, the entire offensive staff was turned over this year, and then if you’re sending your quarterback … that’s too much turnover to have in the NFL one season and be able to compete the next year.
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the four times Super Bowl The winner then doubled down on his position, saying, “So, I don’t think it’s real news. I think it’s fake news.”
Gronkowski admitted that the 2023-24 season could be the last season Belichick and Jones are together in New England.
“But, going forward, if Mac Jones doesn’t deal this year with Billy O’Brien and all that, I can see that it’s a possibility after this season,” Gronkowski said. “But I don’t think that’s been true this offseason so far, and I have to mark it as fake news.”
Gronkowski spent nine years playing with the Patriots and tom brady. After stepping away from soccer in 2019, he came out of retirement and won his fourth title after joining Brady in Tampa Bay for the 2020 season.
Head coach Bill Belichick and Mac Jones during pregame at Hard Rock Stadium on September 11, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
NBC Sports’ Tom E. Curran reported that Belichick was unhappy that Jones was possibly leaving the organization in an attempt to remedy the team’s offensive woes last season.
In February, Chris Simms of NBC Sports and son of the former New York Giants Quarterback and Super Bowl XXI MVP Phil Simms said Jones’ actions put him in Belichick’s “doghouse.”
Belichick has yet to publicly respond to the report, but he doesn’t appear to be committed to the idea of Jones being the starting quarterback in 2023.
Mac Jones (10) of the New England Patriots attempts a pass during the third quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on January 8, 2023 in Orchard Park, NY (Timothy T. Ludwig/Getty Images)
“Everybody’s going to get a chance to play. We’re going to play the best player,” Belichick said at last week’s NFL owners meeting when asked if Jones and backup quarterback Bailey Zappe would compete for the starting job.
After a tumultuous season in which Matt Patricia went from coaching the defensive side of the ball to running the offensive plays in 2022, the Patriots brought Bill O’Brien back to New England to take over offensive coordinator duties at 2023.
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O’Brien previously coached Jones when Jones was the quarterback Alabama Crimson Tide in 2021. In the 14 games Jones played last season, he completed 65.2% of his passes for 2,997 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.