Patriots coaches reveal why Marcus Jones wasn’t considered for offensive tackle

Foxboro – It was Thursday. revealed that Alex Van Pelt didn’t realize Marcus Jones played offensive line for the Patriots late in the 2022 season.

Patriots offensive coordinator noted that Jones wrote to him two weeks ago and asked if he could help the team on offense. This led to the Patriots playing cornerback/punt returner on two drives in the team’s loss to Los Angeles.

On Friday, Patriots coaches explained why Van Pelt was unaware of Jones’ offensive background.

“I knew this question would come. Look, our main goal this year was to get Marcus healthy and ready to be a cornerback and punt returner. That was the main goal,” Jerod Mayo said. “It was a trick. Look how much time we are willing to spend playing with gadgets? He’s most valuable on defense.”

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When asked in hindsight if anyone should have told Van Pelt about Jones’ offensive history, Mayo responded, “Everyone in this building knows what he can do with the ball in his hands. We see these things. Again, the focus was on him playing corner.”

Jones suffered a labrum injury last season. This cut short his second season after two games played. As a rookie in 2022, Jones was a pro punt returner and backup defensive back. However, he also moonlighted as a gadget player on offense. That season, he made 18 attacks in the final five games.

Jones caught four passes on four targets for 78 yards and a touchdown. This included a 48-yard touchdown catch and a run against the Buffalo Bills.

Mayo was not the only coach on the team that season. Patriots wide receivers coach Tyler Hughes was an offensive assistant at the time. He was asked Friday why Jones’ offensive story never came up this offseason.

“With Marcus coming back from last season, I think the focus was on him being a quarterback and him being a returner. That’s all it was,” Hughes said. “We were focused on him as a team in this role. Then, as the season progressed, new opportunities opened up for him.”

Jones has been the Patriots’ primary running back and punt returner this season. He started eight of the 11 games played. Jones said Thursday that he talked to Mayo about wanting to play offense before writing to Van Pelt. After speaking with the offensive coordinator, Van Pelt said he went back and watched Jones play on offense for the 2022 season.

“Look, we are a game planning team. We change quite a lot,” Mayo said when asked about what has changed with Jones in the offense. “It turned out to be one of those packages for this game.”

With Jones wanting to play offense and all the coaches on the same page, it looks like the Patriots quarterback is in for more offensive opportunities.

“Marcus is a guy who can help our team. He has proven that he can play well when given the opportunity,” Hughes said. “We’ll see how it looks throughout the season and the rest of the year. Again, he’s a good player. He helped us as a comeback guy. He’s a good cover guy. He’s a talented guy. We’ll find a way to keep him in the game, one way or another.”