Julian Edelman has been a harsh critic of New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones, but he isn't a fan of replacing him with Kirk Cousins.
As Jones has been a major reason why the Patriots have gotten off to a 1-5 start this season, Edelman explained why he would continue to ride with the team's current quarterback and not trade for Cousins ahead of the trade deadline.
“I would stick it out,” Edelman told Von Miller on The Voncast when asked by the Buffalo Bills linebacker if he'd trade Jones for Cousins. “They’re not gonna pay Kirk next year. You’d rent Kirk Cousins if you had a shot unless you want to pay him for the next few years. I think you gotta stick with Mac.
“This is where you see his mental toughness. When things aren’t at its best, a lot of characteristics come out of people, and that’s kind of when you wanna evaluate them because that’s when you know you got a dawg or not.”
Jones has had a rough last few weeks. He turned the ball over six times over the Patriots' losses in Weeks 4 and 5 to the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints, respectively. Two of those turnovers (a pick-6 and a scoop-and-score) led to touchdowns for the opposing defense as the Patriots were outscored 72-3 during that stretch.
The third-year quarterback rebounded a little bit in Week 6, completing 24-of-33 passes for 200 yards with an interception. But the Patriots still lost, falling 21-17 to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Von Miller says he likes Mac Jones ahead of Bills-Patriots matchup
Through three games in October, Jones has completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 1,208 yards, five touchdowns and seven interceptions with a 74.4 passer rating. As Buffalo gears up to face Jones and the Patriots in Week 7, Miller made clear he's a believer in the third-year signal-caller.
“You can see the talent,” Miller said. “You can see like, why people are excited about Mac. Like you said before, on one play the receiver falls down. On another play, the defensive end comes free and gets a sack and now we're behind the sticks. But you can see the talent with Mac Jones. I've seen it on film and I've seen it on TV.”
Miller has yet to go up against Jones in his career, tearing his ACL before the two teams went head-to-head in 2022. While Miller hasn't recorded a sack this season, he's part of a defense that has a league-best 24 sacks this season entering Week 7.
Jones knows the challenge that awaits them.
“They have great players at each spot,” Jones told reporters of the Bills' pass rush. “In some teams, there might be a really good edge rusher or a really good inside person. But they’ve got everybody. So, definitely a good group and going to be a big challenge for the offensive line. Obviously, just operating within the system of our offense.”
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