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Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff Writer
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Jones returns: As a rookie in 2022, Marcus Jones was named The Associated Press first-team All-Pro punt returner after showing he was one of the NFL’s most dynamic players with a football in his grasp.
He had 29 punt returns for 362 yards (12.5 avg.), which included an 84-yard touchdown, and returned 27 kickoffs for 645 yards (with a long of 46 yards).
Now, as Jones hopes to recapture that form after sustaining a season-ending torn labrum in the second week of the 2023 season, he returns to a significantly changed NFL landscape for returners. While punt returns are the same, new rules for kickoffs approved this offseason have dramatically altered the play, sparking intrigue across the league on how it will impact games.
Jones’ first impression of the changes through spring practices?
“Honestly, it’s not too crazy for me because I’m a punt returner, too. It’s basically like another punt return for me,” he said in an interview with ESPN. “It’s just people on the same level, all at the same yard line, so that’s a little different. But other than that, I can see how it would be a little different for people who don’t do punt returns.”
As part of the new rules, the kicker will continue to kick off from the 35-yard line, with the remaining 10 members of the kicking team lining up at the receiving team’s 40-yard line. As for the return team, at least nine members will be between their 35- and 30-yard lines in a “setup zone.” No one but the kicker and returner(s) can move until the ball is caught or hits the ground.
“It’s going to be quick, the holes are going to close faster, I feel like it’s going to be ‘bam bam!'” said the 5-foot-8, 188-pound Jones, whose combination of speed, agility and vision contribute to his place as one of the league’s top returners.
Touchbacks will be spotted at the 30-yard line, and if the ball is kicked out of bounds, it will be placed at the 40. One other significant wrinkle is that if the ball lands inside the 20 and rolls into the end zone for a touchback, that will be spotted at the 20 instead of the 30 — a move to incentivize returns. Returners need to pick up the ball.
In 2023, only 21% of kickoffs across the league were returned. NFL competition committee chairman Rich McKay estimates that between 50% to 60% of kickoffs will be returned this season, adding about 1,000 plays across the league.
For the Patriots, who are coming off a 4-13 season and rebuilding an offense that plummeted to the bottom of the NFL, anything to possibly ease that offensive transition and support a top-ranked defense will be a welcomed addition. This makes Jones’ return from injury an important development as the team prepares to open training camp under first-year head coach Jerod Mayo on Wednesday.
Mayo previously acknowledged the mystery surrounding how the changed kickoff rules will affect the game, saying: “I don’t think anyone actually knows how this thing is going to play out.” He added that the Patriots have studied and watched practice tape of kickoffs as a full coaching staff — not limited to just special teams coaches Jeremy Springer and Tom Quinn — because they want a variety of viewpoints.
As for Jones’ return from injury, the 25-year-old native of Enterprise, Alabama, said remaining around his teammates for parts of last season while rehabbing provided him an important support system. He also noted the work of Brian Dolan, one of the Patriots’ athletic trainers and physical therapists.
“He’s a big part of my support team and it’s more than just the physical ability. We have to be right mentally in order to perform physically, and he was always checking in,” Jones said.
Jones’ passion for singing and music, and sharing that with others, is another part of why he feels he’s laid a foundation for a productive 2024 football season. He officially started a nonprofit organization alongside Berklee College of Music alums Keithen Foster and Kirjuan Freeman, most recently hosting a three-day event in Boston that reflected the mission of the group: to provide music career education and mentorship to students.
Jones, whose single “Make It Right” reached top-10 status in the UK last year, highlighted the various jobs within the music industry, especially those behind the scenes that students perhaps didn’t know existed.
As for his mindset reporting to training camp this week, Jones hopes to return by providing a reminder to fans of what he accomplished in 2022.
“I’m locked in,” he said. “I love the fans here and the pressure as well. It’s Titletown up here. Whenever you’re not doing the right thing, they keep you accountable and I love to hear that.”
2. Dreaming of Aiyuk: Receiver Brandon Aiyuk would be a home-run acquisition for the Patriots, who have the need for a game-breaking receiver to grow with Drake Maye and the cap space to acquire one. That was the consensus among ESPN NFL Live analysts Louis Riddick, Dan Orlovsky and Field Yates last week after Aiyuk requested a trade from the San Francisco 49ers.
There are two significant hurdles for New England, however: The 49ers reportedly don’t intend to trade Aiyuk at this time, and it’s hard to imagine the Patriots being willing to part with their 2025 first-round pick to acquire him considering it could be among the top selections in the draft as they transition to a new regime.
As the ESPN analysts noted, until both of those things change, or perhaps just one changes, it feels like it will be status quo with Aiyuk as the 49ers stand firm.
3. Camp plan: The majority of Patriots veterans report for training camp Tuesday, with the first practice set for Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET (open to the public, free of charge). But the first full-pads practice, which is when coaches and players often say “real” football begins, won’t come until next week as part of the standard ramp-up period for players.
Last year, for example, the Patriots’ initial full-pads work came on the fifth practice of camp. Veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett is among those scheduled to answer questions from reporters on Day 1, which reflects how coaches currently have tabbed him as the starter.
4. Cash spending: The Patriots’ cash spending in 2024 has totaled $259 million, according to Roster Management System, ranking them ninth in the NFL. That has been reflected in a flurry of free agent re-signings and signings as the shift to a new regime led by executive vice president of personnel Eliot Wolf has been more aggressive in its spending. Perhaps most surprising is that the Dallas Cowboys currently rank last in the NFL in cash spending, at $190 million, according to Roster Management System.
5. Fashion report: The Patriots have had internal discussions about possibly wearing silver pants (instead of the standard blue) for a game(s), which would give its game-day uniform a different look. But there is no confirmation at this time when/if it will happen. Also, as expected, the team plans to wear throwback jerseys during the 2024 season, with an announcement on a specific game(s) to come in the future.
6. ‘Ballers’ at CB: Jonathan Jones enters his ninth NFL season, making him the senior citizen among Patriots cornerbacks. He has been mentoring a group of corners behind him that includes 2023 first-round pick Christian Gonzalez, Marcus Jones, Shaun Wade, Alex Austin, Marco Wilson, Isaiah Bolden and Marcellas Dial Jr., among others. Gonzalez projects to start, but who emerges from the rest of the group could be one of the fiercest competitions in training camp.
“We’ve got a good group of young ballers,” Jones said. “They know their stuff, they’re ready to learn and just coming in to compete. Hopefully we can build out a good group.”
7. Milton a top teammate: At this year’s Senior Bowl, Patriots rookie quarterback Joe Milton III was named the first ever “Good Guy Award” winner. Support staff members each listed three players for consideration and Milton was in the top three for the majority of them, according to Jim Nagy, the game’s executive director. “He has a great way about him,” Nagy said. “He’s going to be a good guy in the room for a young guy like Drake [Maye]. You’re banking on that, and the arm talent, clicking.”
8. They said it: “We have a whole new group working together. I’m confident we’re building something special. I just hope it doesn’t take too long to show the effects on the field, but we have to be patient.” — owner Robert Kraft, to WBZ-TV, on Monday from the Ron Burton Training Village
9. Did you know, Part I: The Patriots have 91 players on their roster who represent 21 different states, one United States territory and three different countries. They are allowed one extra player as an international exemption for Australia’s Jotham Russell. Starting guard Sidy Sow is from Quebec, Canada.
10. Did You Know, Part II: Of the 21 states represented on the Patriots’ 91-man roster, the most players are from Florida (15), California (13), Texas (11) and Georgia (10). Then Michigan, Alabama and North Carolina are tied with five apiece.