Before moving to Jacksonville, Mac Jones’s stint in New England was as forgettable as it could’ve been. Once heralded as the heir to Tom Brady, Jones’s fall from grace in the eyes of Patriots fans has been so steep that they are now slashing his name from jerseys to reuse them.
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In fact, one fan made rookie QB Drake Maye sign a rebranded Mac Jones jersey recently, which brewed some controversy.
After Monday’s preseason training camp schedule, Maye was kind enough to greet fans present on the field. What was supposed to be a typical autograph signing and photo session laid the path to a viral moment as a fan presented Maye with a Patriots jersey to sign, which had Mac Jones’s name slashed with ink.
The fan painted two intersecting diagonal lines slashing off Mac’s name and replaced it with a “Maye” on top.
This borderline disrespectful act is not the first time NFL fans have acted petty over a former player. But what transpired next surprised the NFL world.
9 out of 10 times, a player in Maye’s position wouldn’t have signed the jersey out of respect to his predecessor. But the rookie QB found it hilarious as he was seen laughing while signing the jersey.
As disappointing as Mac’s tenure was in New England, the QB receiving this treatment from the fans and more importantly, his successor, didn’t sit well with some fans. They took to “X” to call out the rookie QB.
Netizens challenge Drake Maye to match Mac Jones’ rookie season stats
The majority of the Patriots fanbase despise Mac Jones for his three-year stint with New England. We can clearly see that from the following reactions.
Mac Jones is such an embarrassment to that franchise
— (@BrandNewDET) August 12, 2024
Wait, this is WILDD
— NKY Bracket Guy (@BracketNky) August 12, 2024
Dang . Bro went from “franchise qb” to being laughed at by the person who took his job
— PhillyFan (@Gamer74464932) August 13, 2024
A section of fans, however, were shocked to see Drake endorse this behaviour. With reports coming in that Maye has failed to impress the Patriots’ coaching cohort so far, netizens urged Maye to match Jones’ rookie season stats [3,801 passing yards, 22 TDs] before disrespecting him.
Maye will be lucky if he can even sniff Jones 1st seasons stats.
— ANGRYPUG (@ANGRYPUG) August 12, 2024
All said, the jury is out on if Maye disrespected Mac Jones or not. Regardless, getting embroiled in such a petty controversy should have been the last thing on the North Carolina Tar Heels alum’s list. Instead, Maye should prioritise nailing the QB1 spot because reports from training camp have not been favourable for him.
