Wednesday Patriots Notebook 9/6: News and Notes

Ian Logue

2 weeks ago at 11:06 am ET

Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

Some news and notes for this morning:

Charges Dropped Against Jack Jones

The New England Patriots caught a massive break on Tuesday, with news emerging that the legal situation looming over Jack Jones has apparently come to a close.

According to Chris Mason of MassLive, prosecutors in Massachusetts reportedly agreed to drop the charges against Jones in exchange for the embattled defensive back agreeing to one year of pre-trial probation and 48 hours of community service.

That’s a significant development, as Jones had been facing a potential mandatory sentence after bringing two loaded guns into Logan Airport earlier this summer, which were in his bag as he passed through TSA.

Among the charges he was hit with at the time, which included possession of a large-capacity feeding device, carried a mandatory sentence under Massachusetts Law. So, the fact that Jones is avoiding serving any time over this is definitely a surprise.

After Jones’ initial court date of August 18th was pushed back to September, legal analyst Michael McCann viewed that development as a possibility there may have potentially been a plea deal in place, allowing Jones to miraculously avoid jail time.

“Could be a sign a plea deal is in the works for Jack Jones (a plea deal is the most likely outcome in how his case ends, with his main goals being to avoid jail time and to give the Patriots reason to not cut him),” McCann Tweeted.

It looks like McCann read the situation perfectly, and Jones has fortunately gotten past what had been a pretty serious situation that would have possibly affected both his current status with the Patriots, as well as his NFL career.

Now, he’ll be able to move past it and focus on the Philadelphia Eagles, with the club moving on to its first Wednesday practice of the 2023 season ahead of Sunday’s home opener at Gillette Stadium.

Jones Sees No Issues With Smith-Schuster’s Knee

Patriots quarterback Mac Jones appeared on WEEI’s Jones and Mego on Tuesday and was asked about a variety of topics, including his thoughts on JuJu Smith-Schuster’s knee coming off of offseason surgery.

Following a recent report that there still may be some questions when it comes to the veteran receiver’s knee, Jones said he hasn’t seen anything to be concerned about.

“He has practiced every day and he’s out there grinding,” said Jones via NESN’s Adam London. “A lot of the guys are. So, I feel like being healthy is a challenge in the NFL, especially when we practice really hard which is great and it gets us ready for the games.”

The third-year quarterback was also subject of a recent report by ESPN’s Mike Reiss where Jones had reportedly gotten banged up a bit during his lone preseason appearance in Green Bay, but Jones also said he “feels great” ahead of Sunday’s game against the Eagles.

The Matt Patricia Effect

One interesting sidebar for this Sunday’s game is the fact that former Patriots offensive and defensive coordinator/football advisor Matt Patricia is now on Philadelphia’s staff.

Patricia departed New England earlier this offseason to assume a role with the Eagles as a defensive assistant, which ended his most recent stint under Bill Belichick. This Sunday, his new club is likely hoping that he can bring just enough inside knowledge to give them an edge when they face the Patriots in what’s also an important game for them as they try to repeat as NFC champs.

Everyone likely recalls Patricia’s first season in Detroit in 2018 where the Lions embarrassed Tom Brady and the offense to the tune of a 26-10 loss. Say what you want about him, but that afternoon, he won the battle, although the Patriots went on to win their 6th Championship after all was said and done that season.

Belichick downplayed going against former coaches during his weekly appearance on WEEI’s Greg Hill Show on Monday. “There’s always somebody on the other team that we know, or somebody that’s on our team that was with somebody else,” said Belichick. “It’s pretty common in the National Football League.”

An even bigger difference is the fact that with Bill O’Brien now running the offense, along with the fact Patricia has been out of the picture since this spring, plenty of time has passed as the club has implemented their new offense. As a result, any knowledge of what the plan would be heading into this season isn’t there, albeit Patricia likely does know some nuances when it comes to certain players, and even when it comes to how Belichick thinks, that could work in their favor.

For a club that has lost some games recently to teams with former coaches on its staff (last year’s loss to the Raiders with Josh McDaniels, their issues with Miami during Brian Flores’ tenure), hopefully, the Patriots come out on the right side of this one.